p 

860 

•W72 

(Lop.  2 


LIKE 


A  N  D 


ADVENTURES 


JAMES  WILLIAMS, 


A   FUG-ITIVE   SLAVE, 


WITH  A  FULL  DESCRIPTION  OF  THE 


LNDERQ ROUND     RAILROAD, 


Jra  nrisco : 
WOMEN'S  UNION  PRINT,  424  MONTGOMERY  STREET 

1873- 


LIFE 


AND 


ADVENTURES 


OF 


JAMES  WILLIAMS, 


A   FUGITIVE   SLAVE, 


WITH  A  PULL  DESCRIPTION  OF  THE 


UNDERGROUND     RAILROAD 


San 
WOMEN'S  UNION  PRINT,  424  MONTGOMERY  STREET. 

1873. 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  eighteen  hundred  and  seventy-three, 

BY    JAMES    WILLIAMS, 
In  the  Office  of  the  Librarian  of  Congress,  at  Washington. 


A.CE. 


THE  Author,  thinking  an  account  of  his  life  and  experience 
would  be  of  service  to  persons  into  whose  hands  it  might  fall, 
has,  by  the  advice  of  some  of  his  friends,  come  to  the  conclusion 
to  narrate,  as  correctly  as  possible,  things  that  he  encountered 
and  that  came  under  his  notice  during  a  period  of  some  forty-five 
years.  He  hopes,  afte:-  a  perusal  of  his  first  attempt,  the  reader 
will  pardon  him  for  any  errors  which  may  have  been  committed ; 
and  if  I  can  only  thin1!  that  any  good  may  have  grown  out  of 
my  adventures,  I  shall  then  consider  that  I  have  commenced  to 
answer  the  end  I  and  all  human  beings  were  created  for — having 
lived  that  the  world  may  be  bettered  by  me. 

JOHN  THOMAS  "EVANS,  (formerly), 

Now  JAMES  WILLIAMS. 


INDEX. 


PAOK. 

When  and  where  born 9 

Why  I  ran  away 13 

First  contact  with  the  Underground  Railroad 14 

In  the  riot  against  the  Killers 16 

Escape  from  pursuers 18 

Raffling  for  geese,  and  what  came  of  it 19 

Making  coffee  out  of  salt  water f 22 

Dancing  with  the  Irish  girls  and  swollen  feet 24 

Off  for  California.    .' 24 

Find  a  friend  on  the  Isthmus 25 

Arrive  in  California  and  go  to  mining 29 

Leave  California  for  Mexico 31 

Ship  for  Talcahuano 32 

Again  in  California  in  1 853 33 

Go  to  Vancouver  Island,  come  back,  and  go  to  Washoe 34 

Agency  of  A.  M.  E.  Church 37 

Perseverance  and  apple  dumplings ,. 41 

The  mission  of  the  flowers 45 

Lizzie  Thompson 51 

Linchcomb's  Story 52 

Who  will  make  laws  ? 54 

Not  to  be  the  man 55 

I  am  wounded 55 

Why  they  so  dislike  me 56 

What  did  I  do  to  them?   .                                   56 


INDEX. 


Anxious  for  the  office 57 

Sketches  of  the  Catholic  and  Protestant  Churches 61 

Blessed  are  ye 62 

Collecting  for  the  Church 62 

Susan  Neal 64 

Story  of  Charles  Thompson 66 

Story  of  Henry  Box  Brown 68 

Story  a  Young  Woman — name  unknown 71 

Story  of  Harry  Grimes 72 

Story  of  George  Laws 76 

Story  of  Pete  Mathews 77 

Story  of  Leah  Green 79 

Story  of  Jim  Billy  Bowlegs 81 

Story  of  Abram  Galoway 83 

Story  of  Ann  Johnson  and  Levina  Woolfley 83 

Story  of  William  and  Ellen  Craft 87 

Story  of  Barnaby  Grigby  and  others 96 

Report  cut  from  Maryland  Examiner 97 

Name  of  Stockholders  in  the  U.  G.  R.  R 98 

Spiritualism 99 

Bigamy 101 

Modoc  War 101 

Precious  Scripture  Words 102 

California 103 

Chinese  in  California 105 

The  Christian's  Voyage  ...    107 


-.. 


LIFE  AND  ADVENTURES 

OP 

JAMES   WILLIAMS. 


SAN  FRANCISCO,  - 

I,  JOHN  THOMAS,  was  born  in  Elkton,  Cecil  county, 
Maryland,  April  1st,  A.  D.  1825,  in  the  house  of  my  master, 
William  Hollin<rsworth,  being  born  a  slave,  I  remained 
with  him  until  I  was  thirteen  years  of  age,  when  I  took  one 
of  his  blooded  mares  and  made  my  escape.  Whilst  riding,  I 
met  a  number  of  men,  one  of  whom  said  to  me:  " Little  boy, 
where  are  you  going?"  "  1  am  going  to  Mr.  Cuche's  mill." 
"  Who  do  you  belong  to ?"  "I  belong  to  Mr.  William  Hol- 
lings worth."  I,  at  the  time,  had  on  two  pairs  of  pants,  with 
leather  suspenders  over  my  coat.  A  man  asked  me,  "  Why  do 
you  wear  your  suspenders  over  your  coat  ?"  "These  are  my 
overalls,  to  keep  my  pants  clean."  Ere  I  arrived  at  Mr.  Cuche's 
mill,  I  met  a  little  boy.  I  said  to  him,  "  Little  boy,  what  is 
the  name  of  the  next  town  beyond  Mr.  Cuche's  mill?"  He 
told  me,  { '  New  London  Cross  Roads. "  Ere  I  arrived  there  I 
met  a  white  man.  He  accosted  me  thus:  "Boy,  who  do 
you  belong  to  ?"  I  told  him  that  I  belonged  to  Mr.  William 
Hollingsworth.  "  Where  are  you  going  to  now?"  "  I  am  go- 
ing to  New  London."  At  New  London  I  met  a  school-boy. 
I  asked  him,  "  Where  is  the  line  that  divides  Maryland 
from  Pennsylvania?"  He  said,  "New  London  is  the  line." 
Tasked  him,  "What  is  the  name  of  the  next  town?"  He 
said,  "Eaton  Town."  On  my  way  I  met  another  man;  he 
said  to  me,  "Where  are  you  going?"  I  answered,  "To  Ea- 


ton  Town.'V  He  said,  "  Where  are  you  from?"  I  said, 
"Cuche's  Mill."  He  asked  me  if  I  belonged  to  Mr.  Cu- 
che?  I  said,  ''Yes."  On  my  way  I  met  two  more  men. 
They  asked  the  same  questions.  I  answered  as  before. 
When  I  arrived  at  Eaton  Town  I  asked  a  little  boy  what  the 
name  of  the  nexttown  was.  He  said,  "  Russelville."  As  I 
went  i  saw  a  colored  man  cutting  wood  in  the  woods.  I 
asked  him,  "What  was  the  name  of  the  next  town  ?"  He 
said,  "Russelville."  I  asked  him  if  any  colored  fami- 
lies lived  there  ?  He  said,  "Yes;  Uncle  Sammy  Glasgow." 
He  advised  me  to  stop  there.  He  asked  me  where  I  belonged. 
I  said,  "In  New  London  Cross  Roads."  And  for  fear  that 
he  would  ask  to  whom  I  belonged,  I  whipped  up  my  horse  find 
went  my  way.  I  was  then  a  few  miles  in  Pennsylvania, 
and  I  felt  that  I  was  a  free  boy  and  in  a  free  State. 
I  met  a  man,  and  he  asked  me  where  I  was  going  ?  I  said 
" Eusselville,  to  Uncle  Sammy  Glasgow."  He  asked  me  if 
I  was  a  free  boy.  I  said,  "Yes."  He  said,  "You  look 
more  like  one  of  those  little  runaway  niggers  than  anything 
else  that  I  know  of."  I  said,  "Well,  if  you  think  I  am  a 
runaway,  you  had  better  stop  me,  but  I  think  you  will  soon 
let  me  go."  I  then  went  to  Eusselville,  and  asked  for  Sam- 
my Glasgow,  and  a  noble  old  gentleman  came  to  the  door, 
and  I  asked  him  if  he  could  tell  me  the  way  to  Somerset,  and 
he  pointed  out  the  way.  I  asked  him  if  he  knew  any  colored 
families  there.  He  said,  "Yes."  He  told  me  of  one  Wil- 
liam Jourdcn,  the  first  house  that  I  came  to,  on  my  left  hand. 
This  Jourden  was  my  stepfather;  he  married  my  mother,  who 
had  runaway  years  before,  and  the  way  that  I  knew  where 
she  lived  was  through  a  man  by  the  name  of  Jim  Ham,  who 
was  driving  a  team  in  Lancaster  City,  whose  home  was  in 
Elkton.  He  came  home  on  a  visit,  and  was  talking  to  one  of 
the  slave  women  one  night;  he  sat  with  his  arm  around  her, 
I,  a  little  boy,  sitting  in  the  chimney  corner  asleep,  as  they 
thought,  but  with  one  eye  open  and  alistening.  He  whis- 
pered to  her,  saying,  "I  saw  that  boy's  mother."  She  said, 
"Did  you?  Where?"  He  said,  "In  Somerset;  she  is 
married  and  doing  well  ;  she  married  a  man  by  the  name  of 
William  Jourden."  When  I  arrived  at  my  mother's  house,  I 
met  my  stepfather  in  the  yard  cutting  wood,  and  I  asked  him 
if  Mrs.  Jourden  was  at  home  ?  He  said,  "  Yes; "  and  asked 


(  11  ) 

me  in.  I  went  in  and  sat  down  by  the  door.  My  mother 
asked  me  my  name.  I  answered,  "James  "Williams."  She 
said.  "  Come  to  the  fire  and  warm  yourself  !"'  I  said,  "  No; 
that  I  was  not  cold."  After  sitting  there  awhile,  I  asked  her 
if  she  had  any  children.  She  said,  "Yes;"  and  named  one 
boy  that  belonged  to  William  Hollingsworth,  in  Elkton.  I 
asked  if  she  had  any  more.  She  named  my  sister  that  be- 
longed to  Thomas  Moore,  of  Elkton,  Vic,  that  had  run  away 
and  was  betrayed  by  a  colored  man,  for  the  sum  of  one  hun- 
dred dollars.  I  had  a  brother  that  went  with  my  mother 
when  she  run  away  from  Maryland.  She  did  not  say  anything 
about  him,  but  spoke  of  John  Thomas.  I  asked  her  if  she 
would  know  him  if  she  saw  him.  She  said,  "  Yes."  I  said, 
"  Are  you  sure  that  you  would  know  him  ?"  She  answered, 
'•"  Yes;  don't  you  think  I  would  know  my  own  child  ?"  And 
becoming  somewhat  excited,  she  told  me  that  I  had  a  great 
deal  of  impudence,  and  her  loud  tone  brought  her  hus- 
band iu,  and  he  suspicioned  me  of  being  a  spy  for  the  kid- 
nappers. He  came  with  a  stick  and  stood  by  the  door,  when 
an  old  lady,  by  the  name  of  Hannah  Brown,  exclaimed : 
"  Aunt  Abby,  don't  you  know  your  own  child  ?  Bless  God, 
that  is  him."  Then  my  mother  came  and  greeted  me,  and 
my  father  also.  My  mother  cried,  "  My  God,  my  son,  what 
are  you  doing  here?"  I  said,  "that  I  had  given  leg-bail 
for  security."  My  father  took  the  horse  and  hid  it  in  the 
fodder  stack.  That  night,  one  William  Smith,  who  was  a 
good  old  minister,  went  back  on  the  road,  about  six  miles, 
with  the  horse,  and  put  her  on  the  straight  road,  and  started 
her  for  home ;  but  the  bridle  he  cut  up  and  threw  into  a 
mill  race.  I  was  told  that  on  the  morning  of  the  second  day 
the  horse  stood  at  her  master's  gate.  To  show  the  reader 
how  my  muther  got  free,  I  shall  have  to  digress  a  little.  She 
was  sold  by  Tom  Moore  to  Mr.  Hollingsworth,  for  a  term  of 
two  years,  for  the  sum  of  one  hundred  dollars,  and,  at  the 
expiration  of  that  time,  she  was  to  go  back  to  Tom  Moore's. 
One  morning  Mr.  Holliugsworth  said,  "  Abby,  it  is  hard 
enough  to  serve  two  masters,  and  worse  to  serve  three.  You 
have  got  three  months  to  serve  me  yet,  but  here  is  twenty- 
five  dollars;  I  won't  tell  you  to  run  away.  You  can  do 
as  you  like."  He  told  my  uncle  Frisby  to  take  the  horse 
and  cart  and  curry  her  as  far  as  a  brook,  called  Dogwood 


(     12    ) 

Bun,  on  the  way  to  Pennsylvania.  By  these  means  my 
mother  got  her  freedom,  which  shows  that  Holliugs- 
worth  had  a  Christian  spirit,  though  a  slaveholder.  I  stayed 
one  night  at  my  mother's,  and  in  the  morning  I  was  taken 
on  the  underground  railroad,  and  they  carried  me  to  one  Asa 
Walton,  who  lived  at  Penningtonville,  Pennsylvania,  and  he 
took  me  on  one  of  his  fastest  horses  and  carried  me  to  one 
Daniel  Givens,  a  good  old  abolitionist,  who  lived  near  Lancas- 
ter City  ;  and  I  travelled  onward  from  one  to  another,  on  the 
underground  railroad,  until  I  got  to  a  place  of  refuge.  This 
way  of  travel  was  called  the  Underground  Eailroad.  At  the 
age  of  sixteen  I  commenced  my  labors  with  the  underground 
road.  The  way  that  we  used  to  conduct  the  business  was 
this  :  a  white  man  would  carry  a  certain  number  of  slaves 
for  a  certain  amount,  and  if  they  did  not  all  have  money,  then 
those  that  had  had  to  raise  the  sum  that  was  required.  We 
used  to  communicate  with  each  other  in  this  wise  :  one  of 
us  would  go  to  the  slaves  and  find  out  how  many  wanted  to 
go,  and  then  we  would  inform  the  party  who  was  to  take 
them,  and  some  favorable  night  they  would  meet  us  out  in 
the  woods  ;  we  would  then  blow  a  whistle,  and  the  man  in 
waiting  would  answer  "all  right ;"  he  would  then  take  his 
load  and  travel  by  night,  until  he  got  into  a  free  State.  Then 
I  have  taken  a  covered  wagon,  with  as  many  as  fourteen  in, 
and  if  I  met  any  one  that  asked  me  where  I  was  going,  I  told 
them  that  I  was  going  to  market.  I  became  so  daring,  that 
I  went  within  twenty  miles  of  Elkton.  At  one  time  the  kid- 
nappers were  within  one  mile  of  me  ;  I  turned  the  corner  of 
a  house,  and  went  into  some  bushes,  and  that  was  the  last 
they  saw  of  me.  The  way  we  abolitionists  had  of  doing  our 
business  was  called  the  underground  railroad  ;  and  in  all 
my  travels  I  always  found  the  Anglo-Saxons  to  be  my  best 
friends. 

The  interpretation  of  the  crowing  of  a  chicken  when  Christ 
told  Peter  that  he  should  deny  him  thrice  before  the  cock 
crew;  Peter  denied  him,  and  immediately  the  cock  crew,  and 
Peter  immediately  understood  the  interpretation.  And  that 
is  the  right  interpretation  which  I  have  heard  in  the  watches 
of  the  night,  when  I  have  been  traveling  with  some  fellow 
being  towards  the  North  Star,  and  a  land  of  freedom. 

"  Oh,  give  thanks  unto  the  Lord  God,  for  He  is  good,  and 


(    13    ) 

His  mercy  endureth  forever;  He  taketh  my  part  against 
them  that  hate  me.  Oh,  give  thanks  unto  the  Lord,  for  His 
mercy  endureth  forever." 

When  I  was  ten  years  old  I  was  a  house-boy.     I  had  to 
stand  at  the  table  and  brush  off  the  flies  while  the  guests 
were  dining.     General  Sue,  Col.  Patridge  and  others  would 
be  in  conversation  and  talking  about  the  slaves,   saying,   my 
negro  Dick  and  my  boy  Tom,  and  discussing  what  they  could 
get  for  their  slaves;  saying  that  Bennet  had  captured  his 
negro,  Bill,  that  run  away  two  years  ago,  and  is  now  in  jail, 
and  that  he  was  the  first  well-dressed  negro  he  met  in  Lom- 
bard street,  Philadelphia,  and  when  he  recognized  him  he 
said  that  he  would  come  with  him,   and   that   he  had  no 
trouble  to  get  him.     One  of  the  men  turned  his  head  and 
said,  "Tom,  you  must  never  run  away      Bad  boys  are  the 
only  ones  that  run  away,  and  when  their  master  gets  them  he 
will  sell  them  to  go  to  Georgia,    where  they  will  bore  holes 
in  your  ears  and  plow  you  like  a  horse."     Saying  this  for  the 
purpose   of  frightening   me,  thinking  that  I  would    believe 
such   stories.     Seeing   the  difference  between  freedom  and 
slavery,  I  made  up  rny  mind  that  when  I  was  old    enough  I 
would  run  away.     The  reason  I  run  away  when  I  did  was, 
because  an  old  colored  lady,  by  the  name  of  Rachel,   who 
was  considered  to  be  a  good  old  aunty,  became  affronted  at 
me,  and  misrepresented  me,  and  tod  a  lie  on  me,  for  which 
I  was  whipped  with  a  raw  hide  very  severely.     Perhaps  ere 
this  she  hath  gone  to  eternity;  if  so,  I  hope  ere  she  went  she 
sought  forgiveness,  and  is  now  resting  from  her   labors,  and 
the  good  works  consummated  by  her  tire  following  her.  Slaves, 
at  times,  did  things  which  worked  directly  against  each  other, 
ignorantly.     Be  this  as  it  may,  the  Creator  hath  a  record  of 
all  transactions,  and  will,  He  says,  render  justice  to  all.     I, 
therefore,  leave  the  event  to  Him  for  adjustment.     My  mas- 
ter, in  conclusion,  threatened  to  sell  me  to  Georgia.     After 
receiving  the  chastisement,  I  went  off  sniffling  and  crying. 
On  the  following  Sunday  morning  I  arose  quite  early  and 
gave  them  leg-bail  for  security,  and  on  one   of  his  blooded 
mares  I  run  away  from  him,  or,  in    other  words,   she  done 
the  running  and  I  on  her  back.     I  was  then  satisfied  that  I 
was  getting  out  of  the  way  of  old  John  Thomas,  instead  of 
old  Dan  Tucker,  as  goes  the  old  song,  where  I   was  then. 


The  traders  and  slave-hunters  went  to  my  master  and  tried  to 
get  him  to  advertise  me  or  employ  them  to  hunt  me,  as  the 
partridge  upon  the  hill;  but  he,  being  very  close,  would  not 
employ  them,  but  the  law  compelled  him  to  advertise  me,  or 
pay  a  fine.  He  had  such  great  confidence  in  me  that  I  would 
come  back  again,  that  he  said,  "  Oh,  the  boy  has  only  gone 
on  a  spree,  and  will  be  home  again  in  a  few  days."  He  of- 
fered a  reward  of  two  cents  to  apprehend  me,  and  four  cents 
to  let  me  go  scot-free,  and  ten  dollars  reward  for  the  recov- 
ery of  his  black  mare.  But  the  spree  that  he  thought  I  had 
gone  on  was  never  over  until  the  year  1868.  Arriving  in 
Pennsylvania  in  the  year  A.  D.  1838,  I  went  to  work  for  an 
abolitionist  by  the  name  of  Acie  Walton.  It  was  in  the  win- 
ter, and  when  the  spring  opened  I  went  to  work  for  one  Mr. 
Dickerson,  in  the  year  1839,  at  five  dollars  per  month. 
In  A.  D.  1840  I  went  toworkfor  a  Mr.  Clarkson  Crozier,  at  six 
dollars  per  month.  He  was  also  an  abolitionist,  and  in  1841 
I  was  still  in  his  employ.  When  I  was  sixteen  years  of  age 
I  made  a  hand  at  mowing.  In  1842  I  was  still  in  that  em- 
ploy, and  led  the  field,  and  was  foreman  of  the  farm,  where 
I  remained  until  1843.  In  1844  I  worked  for  one  Mr.  Hud- 
son until  September  of  the  same  year,  when,  to  my  great 
surprise,  the  kidnappers  came  upon  me.  The  reader  Avill 
not  be  surprised  when  I  inform  him  of  the  fact  that  that  was 
the  first  intimation  I  ever  had  of  a  surprise  party;  for  I  was 
so  much  taken  by  surprise  that  I  went  down  into  the  bushes, 
and  that  was  the  last  they  saw  of  me.  Thus  the  reader  can 
aver  that  I  surprised  them  also.  In  six  months  after  I  was 
again  in  the  same  place.  In  1845  I  went  to  a  quarterly 
meeting  that  was  being  held  in  Wilmington,  Delaware,  at 
which  I  saw  several  white  men.  I  knew  who  came  from  the 
place  of  my  birth  that  I  had  run  away  from.  They  made 
sure  they  had  me  then,  but  I  slipt  through  the  crowd,  ran  in 
and  through  the  church,  out  of  the  back  door,  and  into  the 
wagon  that  I  had  tied  there  in  the  bushes  behind  the  hill, 
and  made  off  to  New  Gardens,  that  being  the  last  they  saw 
of  me.  I  then  went  to  Reading,  Pa.,  and  I  there  came  in 
contact  with  the  underground  railroad.  This  was  in  1846, 
and  in  1847  I  was  again  in  Somerset  township,  where  the 
kidnappers  first  made  me  leave.  I  was  that  year  again  liv- 
ing with  Clarkson  Crozier,  still  engaged  in  the  underground 


(    15    ) 

railroad  business,  having  a  large  light  four-horse  wagon,  with 
white  cover  over  it.     I  then  assumed  the  name  James  Wil- 
liams.    I  would  say  to  men  who  asked  me  "  Where  are  you 
going,  Williams?"     I  would  tell  them   I  was  going  to  Lan- 
caster to  market     At  other  times  when   meeting  them  and 
they  would  ask  me  where  I  was  going,  I  told  them  to  Wil- 
mington market.     The  wagon  would  be  shut  up  tight  to  keep 
the  rain  and  snow  from  spoiling  the  grain,  and,  at  the  same 
time,  perhaps,   I  would  have  a  load  of  slaves  in  there.     I 
have  carried  as  many  a?  14  women  and  children  at  a  load. 
The  way  we  managed   to  get  away  slaves  from  the  Southern 
States,   we  used  to  have  runners  there,   and  when  any  one 
wanted  to  get  away,  he  would  go  to  one  of  these  runners 
and  tell  him  he  wanted  to  make  his  escape,  and  the  runner 
would  ask  if  he  could  raise  a  party  of  10  or  15.     "  If  you  can, 
you  must  raise  a  certain  sum  of  money;  and  if  all  have  not 
got  money,  some  must  pay  for  others  until  the  money  is 
raised,  and  then  meet  me  at  a  certain  place,  with  the  amount 
of  money.     And  now  here  is  a  whistle  I  will  give  you;  set 
your  party  against  a  certain  night,  and  walk  three  miles  from 
the  place  where  you  started,  to  a  certain  place,  and  when  you 
get  there,  if  there  is  nobody  within  sight,  or  nobody  around 
but  3'our  own  party,  you  blow  your  whistle  three  times,  and 
when  I  answer,  come  direct  to  the  answer."     Now  the  read- 
er may  have  some  understanding  how  the  underground  rail- 
road is  conducted.     In  1848  I  was  attacked  by  a  party  of 
kidnappers  on  the  Lancaster  Turnpike,  and  I  had  no  weapons 
only  those  God  gave  me,  and,  at  that  time,  feeling  myself  to 
be  much  of  a  man,  I  used  the   weapons   upon   them  pretty 
severe,  and  when  I  found  myself  getting  out  of    breath   I 
jumped  the  fence  and  run  through  the  corn-fields,  and   went 
to  a  farmer's  house,  and  told  him  what  had  happened  to  me. 
I  gave  him  three  dollars  to  take  me  to  the  cars  that  run  to 
Philadelphia,  and,  by  this  means,  I  got  clear  of  them.     After 
arriving  there  I  went  to  work  in  a  brickyard,  for  a  gentle- 
man named  Davis.     I   remained  there  until  after  the  riot, 
taking  part  with    the  citizens  against   the  Killers.     I   then 
made  my  escape   to  Beading,  Pa.     I  remained  there  a  few 
days,  and ,  for  fear  of  danger,  I  made  my  escape  to  Pottsvillo. 
This  was  still  in  1848,  and  there  I  went  to  work  in  the  coal 
mines.     In  the  latter  part   of  this  year  I  left  there  and  re- 


(    16    ) 

turned  back  to  Philadelphia.  In  the  beginning  of  1849,  I 
went  to  work  for  Mr.  George  Pickeron,  who  kept  a  hay  yard 
on  German  town  road.  He  was  a  lawyer  also  ;  he  made  me 
seller  for  him,  and  I  remained  with  him  about  six  months. 
I  was  walking  out  one  evening  and  was  attacked  by  a  set  of 
white  rowdies,  and  I  having  his  pistol  in  my  possession,  I 
fired  upon  them,  and  I  was  taken  that  same  night  to  the 
watch-house,  and  on  the  next  morning,  he  being  a  lawyer 
and  going  my  security,  he  took  my  case  in  hand  and  cleared 
me  for  the  sum  of  twenty-five  dollars. 

In  the  month  of  September,  three  days  after,  there  was  a 
large  riot  between  the  colored  people  and  the  Killers.  I 
was  identified  with  a  company  of  young  men,  calling  them- 
selves the  Stringers,  and  was  placed  that  night  as 
captain  of  the  company.  I  fired  the  first  shot  on 
the  Moyamensing  Killers.  When  the  California  House 
was  set  on  fire,  at  the  corner  of  Sixth  and  St.  Mary's  Alley, 
I  rushed  up  to  try  and  put  it  out,  and  was  shot  in  my  right 
thigh  with  buckshot,  and  also  received  a  blow  over  my 
left  eye— the  mark  of  which  is  there  until  this  day.  I  made 
my  escape  as  soon  as  possible  and  went  to  a  doctor's  ;  but 
the  doctor,  after  looking  at  me,  said,  "  You  are  not  hurt  ;  go 
and  try  them  again."  I  went,  and  fought  harder  than  ever. 
The  women  tore  up  all  the  sidewalk,  sso  that  the  men  could 
get  bricks  and  stones  to  fight  with.  At  two  o'clock  in  the 
morning  the  fighting  ceased,  but  was  renewed  again  at  seven, 
and  I  was  the  first  who  fired  on  the  Killers  that  day.  An 
officer,  calling  himself  by  the  name  of  Craig,  attempted  to 
arrest  me,  but  I  struck  him  a  blow,  which  tumbled  him  to 
the  ground.  He  got  up  and  went  away,  but  came  back  rein- 
forced to  arrest  me,  but  the  members  of  the  Goodwill  Hose 
Company,  who  were  on  the  side  of  the  colored  citizens, 
came  to  my  assistance,  and  tlion  we  had  a  free  fight  of  it; 
but  I  am  sorry  to  say  there  were  seven  or  eight  of  that  com- 
pany shot  that  day.  There  were  also  two  colored  men  shot, 
and  several  wounded,  and  the  California  House  was  burned 
to  ashes.  Cad\valader's  company  was  called  out  to  quell  the 
riot,  and  succeeded  in  doing  so.  This  riot  was  created  by 
the  Irish  democrats. 

I  then  made  my  escape  to  New  York,  where  I  remained 
about  three  months,  and  then  returned  back  to  Philadelphia. 


(    17    ) 

A  Mr.  Morris  Buckman  gave  me  a  schooner  to  run  from 
there  to  New  York.  I  took  the  schooner  to  Trenton,  then 
crossed  through  the  canal  to  New  Brunswick,  and  from  there 
we  sailed  to  New  York.  She  was  consigned  to  his  brother. 
We  laid  at  pier  No.  2,  North  river. 

Early  in  1850  I  returned  back  to  Philadelphia,  and  went 
into  the  ice-cream  and  fruit  business.  One  night  I  went  out 
to  have  a  little  fun  at  a  swing-yard  that  was  kept  by  a  Mr. 
Dennis;  got  into  company  with  a  couple  of  ^ladies,  and  there 
came  a  Mr.  Brown,  weighing  about  190  Ibs.,  forbidding  me 
keeping  company  with  those  ladies.  We  had  a  great  deal  of 
controversy  about  it,  and  at  last  we  came  to  blows;  but  he 
was  no  more  than  an  India  rubber  ball  in  my  hands.  After 
a  few  rounds  the  watchman  sprung  his  rattle,  and  we  all  com- 
menced running.  I  jumped  a  fence  six  feet  high,  out  into 
an  alley,  in  which  happened  to  be  living  a  family  that  I  was 
acquainted  with.  Having  lost  my  hat  I  stood  in  their  door- 
way bare-headed;  the  watchman  came  running  by,  looking 
for  the  man  that  jumped  the  fence,  and  he  asked  me  if  I  had 
seen  a  man  jump  the  fence;  I  told  him  yes.  and  that  he  had 
just  run  down  the  street.  Away  he  ran  after  him,  as  he 
thought,  and  I  borrowed  a  hat,  went  home  and  got  to  bed. 
A  few  -days  after  that,  a  colored  man  was  arrested  as  a  fugi- 
tive from  labor,  a  slave — and,  as  was  always  my  lot,  I  was 
into  that  fight.  I  was  one  of  the  men  that  helped  to  guard 
the  Court-House  all  night,  and  stood  watch  to  prevent  him 
from  being  stolen  from  the  watch-house.  I  was  also  one  of 
the  men  that  formed  the  plan  to  tear  up  the  Wilmington 
railroad  track,  to  keep  them  from  getting  him  away.  At  last 
they  succeeded  in  stealing  him  away  from  us.  Thank  God! 
slavery  is  dead  now,  and  we  will  be  troubled  no  more  with 
that  abominable  curse,  and  I  hope  the  time  will  come  when 
we  will  be  on  a  level  with  the  Anglo-Saxon  race;  and  the 
time  not  far  distant  when  wre  will  receive  the  full  rights  of 
American  citizens.  I  thank  God  that  I,  who  was  once  a  slave, 
can  lay  down  at  night  and  take  my  rest  without  being  afraid 
or  molested,  but  can  sleep  with  the  consciousness  that  I  am 
a  free  man,  and  protected  as  such,  and  no  longer  looking 
towards  the  hills  for  refuge;  but  whom  do  I  thank  for  it,  and 
whom  do  I  praise,  or  in  whom  do  I  put  rny  trust  ?  In  the 
great  God  of  heaven  and  of  earth;  and  since  I  have  put  my 
2 


(    18    ) 

trust  in  Him  I  must  also  follow  Him — and  so  long  as  I  follow 
Him  I  will  fear  no  evil.  The  God  who  delivered  Daniel  out 
of  the  den  of  lions  is  able  to  deliver  me  also ;  and  He  has  de- 
livered me  and  kept  me  until  this  time,  and  I  praise  Him  and 
give  Him  thanks  forever. 

In  the  same  year  I   saw  a  white  man  in  Market  street, 
whom  I  knew,  and  who  thought  he   was  smart  enough  to 
catch  me,  and  seeing  him,  I  crossed  the  street,  and  went  into 
a  store,  and  let  on  that  I  did  not  notice  him.     But,  like  a 
cat,  I  always  slept  with  one  eye  open,  and  when  I  traveled  I 
always  kept  a  keen  eye  and  listening  ear,  and  a  silent  tongue 
upon  everything  that  I  thought  would  betray  me,  and  I  never 
let  it  be  known  to  any  one  that  I  was  a  fugitive  until  this 
day.     When  I  came  out  of  the  store  I  quickly  noticed  that 
this  white  man  had  sent  a  policeman  to  arrest  me — this  po- 
liceman going  some  distance  below  me  and  standing  on  the 
corner,  and  the  man  standing  above  on  the  other  corner. 
This  being  done,  I  was  in  the  middle.     I  was  looking  over 
my  shoulder  and  saw  him  beckon  and  point  his  finger.     I 
then  crossed  the  street  as  if  I  noticed  nothing;  and  in  quick 
time  I  then  looked  over  my  shoulder  a  second  time,   and 
saw  him  crossing  after  me;  I  then  turned  up  a  little  alley  in 
double  quick  time,  and  turning  up  another  alley  I  left  them 
out  of  sight.     I  then  went  to  my  boarding-house,  kept  by 
Mr.  Hargas,  on  Eleventh  street,  near  Lombard,  four  doors 
from  the  Masonic  Hall.     Mrs.  Hargas  said  to  me,  "  Mr.  Wil- 
liams, there  has  been  two  white  men  here  looking  for  you; 
they  have  just  gone ;  they  asked  me  if  I  knew  where  they 
could  find  you,  and  I  told  them  no — I  did  not  know — they 
looked  like  strangers  to  me;  they  went  down  Lombard  street." 
I  paid  my  bill,  telling  Mrs.  Hargas  that  I  was  going  to  Lan- 
caster City,  she  then  not  knowing  that  I  was  a  fugitive  slave. 
I  also  said  to  her,  l '  If  they  call  again   tell  them  that  I  am 
going  to  Lancaster  City."     I  packed  up  my  little  trunk  and 
went  down  South  street  in  quick  time,  and  meeting  a  colored 
man,  I  gave  him  my  trunk,  and  told  him  to  carry  it  down  to 
the  boat  that  went  to  New  York;  "  Get  me  a  check,  and  say 
nothing  to  any  one,  and  bring  it  back  to  a  certain  corner  to 
me."    He  did  so.    I  then  went  very  near  to  the  boat  landing, 
to  a  certain  alley,  where  were  some  sugar  casks,  and  stowed 
myself  away  there,  like  a  fox  when  the  hounds  are  after  him, 


(    19    ) 

and  my  heart  appeared  to  be  up  in  my  throat.  I  had  n^ver 
told  anybody  about  the  circumstances  under  which  I  was 
placed,  and  the  danger  which  I  was  in  ;  consequently  I  had  no 
one  to  console  me,  or  no  friends  to  help  rescue  me,  but,  when 
the  bell  was  ringing  and  I  saw  a  chance  to  flee  from  danger, 
I  ran  and  leaped  aboard  the  boat,  and  was  soon  on  my  way 
to  Trenton,  but  yet  I  felt  a  little  alarmed.  After  landing 
there,  I  had  to  wait  an  hour  for  the  down  train,  and  still  felt 
alarmed.  During  the  time  I  was  waiting,  I  did  not  know  at 
what  moment  I  might  be  arrested,  and  I  looked  upon  every 
white  man  as  my  enemy  at  that  time.  Becoming  hungry,  I 
walked  a  short  distance  to  a  cake  shop,  ate  a  couple  of  pies, 
a  few  doughnuts,  drank  part  of  a  bottle  of  spruce  beer,  put 
a  few  cakes  into  my  pocket,  and  then  asked  the  young  man 
how  much  the  bill  was.  He  said  forty  cents,  and  I  told  him 
to  charge  it  to  Mr.  Barnburner,  and  he  said,  "  Yes,  sir,"  and 
he  went  to  the  desk,  took  a  pen  and  put  it  down  in  his  book. 
I  then  said  to  him,  "Did  you  charge  it?"  And  he  said,  "Yes, 
sir;'1  and  he  further  said,  "Thank  you,  sir — you  must  come 
again.''  By  that  time  the  cars  had  come,  and  I  jumped 
aboard,  and  left  that  place  as  soon  as  I  could,  and  felt  re- 
leased from  danger.  The  next  place  I  landed  at  was  New 
York  city.  As  soon  as  I  landed  at  New  York,  I  went  to 
work  in  a  private  boarding-house,  kept  by  Mrs.  Lent,  on 
Leonard  street  and  Broadway.  After  being  there  a  few  days, 
there  was  a  colored  man  arrested  at  the  Irving  House,  cor- 
ner of  Broadway  and  Chamber  streets,  by  the  name  of  Hen- 
ry Long.  I  went  down  to  engage  in  the  fight  for  him,  and 
stayed  there  until  he  was  delivered  up  to  those  who  claimed 
to  be  his  masters;  but  I  and  another  colored  man  attacked 
his  master  in  the  night  time,  in  a  public  square,  and  he  drew 
a  six-shooter  on  us,  and  we  gave  back,  like  cowards.  We 
went  next  day  to  have  him  arrested,  but  as  we  made  the  at- 
tack on  him  first  we  did  not  succeed,  so  poor  Henry  was  sent 
back.  A  few  evenings  after  that,  I  went  to  the  Knicker- 
bocker Saloon,  on  Church  street,  near  Thomas,  where  there 
was  a  raffle,  and  I  commenced  throwing  chances,  and,  as 
luck  would  have  it,  won  two  of  them.  The  company  gath- 
ered there  looked  more  like  rowdies  than  any  class  of  men 
that  I  could  compare  them  to,  and  all  strangers;  but  it  being 
a  raffle  and  the  geese  looking  so  fine  and  fat,  I  went  in  on 


(    20    ) 

that  account,  and  won  them.  One  man  says  to  me,  "Old 
fellow,  you  have  not  won  those  geese  fair!  You  shall  put 
them  up  and  raffle  them  again.  You  have  thrown  three  sixes 
twice,  and  you  have  fingered  the  dice  ;  you  must  throw  over 
again."  Says  I,  "  I  shall  not  do  it."  "Well,  if  you  don't, 
we  will  put  a  topknot  over  your  eye.''  I,  feeling  myself 
pretty  much  of  a  man,  said  that  I  should  carry  the  geese 
away  with  me,  and  that  I  could  whip  any  man  in  the  house, 
one  after  the  other.  A  little  boy,  about  twelve  years  of  age, 
reminded  me  of  a  little  fierce  dog  barking  at  a  large  dog, 

by  jumping  out  before  me,  and  saying,  "You nigger, 

you  can't  whip  me!"  shaking  his  fist  in  my  face.  I  picked 
up  my  geese,  and  started  out  doors,  telling  them  to  stand 
back,  but  they  surrounded  me  in  the  street,  and,  while  talk- 
ing to  them,  one  fellow  struck  me  over  the  eye  and  landed 
me  half  way  across  the  street.  Falling  to  the  ground,  my 
geese  went  one  way  and  my  plug-hat  another;  when  I  re- 
ceived that  blow  I  thought  that  I  saw  stars.  I  lay  some  sec- 
onds as  a  dead  man,  and  when  I  arose  I  commenced  calling 
out  for  the  watchman,  who  came  and  rescued  me.  He  went 
with  me  to  pick  up  my  hat,  and  into  the  house  where  the 
affair  happened,  to  arrest  the  man  that  had  struck  me,  and 
to  get  my  geese  for  me.  They  told  the  policeman  that  "  the 
man  that  struck  him  is  not  here,  and  neither  are  the  geese 
here;  they  are  both  strangers  to  us,  but  this  fellow  has 
cheated  the  other,  for  he  fingered  the  dice,  and  that  was  the 
way  he  won  the  geese."  In  the  meantime  the  landlord  asked 
the  officer  to  come  up  and  take  a  drink  ;  the  officer  turned 
to  me  and  said:  "You  leave  here;  if  you  don't  I  will  take 
you  to  the  watch-house,  for  I  know  all  these  men  don't  lie." 
Said  I,  "Mr.  Watchman."  Said  he,  "No  talk  out  of  you." 
This  house  was  kept  by  one  Mr.  McDonald,  a  very  dark  man. 
The  next  day  I  had  such  a  big  eye  that  I  could  not  go  to 
my  service  place,  consequently  I  had  to  leave.  I  then  went 
down  to  the  Tombs  to  see  if  I  could  not  have  him  arrested. 
The  judge  asked  me  if  I  belonged  to  New  York?  I  said, 
"No,  sir."  He  said,  "Have  you  been  here  long?"  I  said, 
"No,  sir,  only  five  or  six  weeks."  "Well,  where  are  you 
working?"  I  said,  "  At  Mrs.  Lent's.''  Have  you  ever  been 
here  before  ?"  "Yes,  sir,  dozens  of  times."  "Where  do 
you  belong  when  you  are  home  ?"  I  told  him  that  I  belonged 


(    21    ) 

to  Philadelphia.  "  So  you  Philadelphia  niggers  come  here 
and  try  to  whip  our  New  York  niggers,  and  when  you  cannot 
you  try  to  have  them  arrested.  Well,  they  have  only  given 
you  a  present  over  your  eye."  He  then  asked  me  if  I  had 
any  money.  I  told  him  no.  He  then  said,  "  Get  out  of  my 
office,  before  I  give  you  another  over  the  other  eye."  So  I 
had  to  leave  with  my  black  eye.  I  have  never  raffled  since, 
for  it  learned  me  a  lesson  never  to  go  into  a  strange  place  to 
raffle. 

A  few  evenings  after  that,  I  was  standing  on  the  corner  of 
Thomas  street,  and  a  man  struck  me  with  a  club,  and  he 
landed  me  halfway  across  the  street,  on  my  knees.  I  never 
found  out  who  he  was  or  knew  what  it  was  done  for,  and  had 
no  suspicion  of  any  one.  About  a  week  after,  on  the  corner 
of  Anthony  and  Broadway,  I  met  a  colored  woman,  and  she 
says  to  me,  "  Come,  my  dear,  and  go  home  with  me.7'  I  said 
to  her,  "I  am  greatly  obliged  to  you,  my  friend;  I  never 
accompany  a  strange  lady  or  ladies  home,  more  especially 
when  I  am  in  a  stiange  place.''  She  commenced  to  abuse 
me,  and  I  grew  belligerent,  and  she  called  the  watch.  I  ran 
and  as  I  passed  the  corner  the  watchman  struck  me  with  his 
mace,  but  I  outrun  him.  He  ran  me  about  six  blocks,  but 
I  outrun  the  whole  party  out  of  sight  by  making  a  warm  run, 
I  at  last  ran  into  the  arms  of  a  gentleman,  and  he  said  to 
me:  "Tell  me  what  the  matter  is,  and  tell  me  what  you 
have  done,  and,  if  it  is  of  no  account,  I  will  let  you  go."  I 
told  him  the  whole  story,  just  as  it  was  and  had  happened. 
He  said  "If  that  is  all,  go;  and  you  have  done  nothing 
more  than  what  was  right,  and  if  I  see  the  officers  I  shall 
turn  them  back."  I  then  made  a  straight  line  for  home. 

A  few  weeks  after  that  I  went  to  work  for  George  Webster, 
at  the  corner  of  Church  and  Leonard  streets,  who  was  to 
pay  me  by  the  week.  I  worked  three  weeks  for  him,  but  got 
no  pay,  and  could  get  none.  I  figured  up  how  much  was 
coming  to  me,  and  went  and  got  twenty  gentlemen,  and  tak- 
ing them  to  Mr.  Webster's,  who  kept  a  house  of  entertain- 
ment, called  for  supper.  After  supper  we  all  called  for 
drinks.  I  then  told  him  to  charge  it  to  me;  he  said  no,  he 
would  charge  it  to  the  gentlemen.  They  said,  "No,  Mr. 
Williams  invited  us,  and  we  came  with  that  understanding." 
He  then  cursed  at  me,  and  said  he  knew  that  was  what  I  was 


(    22    ) 

up  to  when  I  came  down  ahead,  and  for  a  little  he  would 
give  me  a  good  flogging.  As  soon  as  he  said  that  I  blazed 
away  at  him  with  tumblers,  the  rest  following  suit;  in  a  few 
minutes  his  wife  came  with  a  kettle  of  hot  water  and  he  with 
a  butcher's  knife,  and  while  the  rest  were  in  the  skirmish  I 
made  for  the  door,  which  I  took  off  from  the  hinges  and 
dropped  on  the  sidewalk. 

A  few  evenings  after  that,  there  was  a  gentleman  rooming 
in  the  same  room  with  me  and  another  gentleman.  This 
man's  name  was  William  Browne,  and  seems  to  have  been  in 
a  fix  in  the  night,  but  he  is  all  right  now.  He  was  formerly 
from  California. 

But,  reader,  I  have  given  you  a  sketch;  let  it  suffice  as  a 
warning  to  you.  Obey  the  command  of  God — more  espe- 
cially the  first  commandment  with  promise ;  honor  thy  father 
and  thy  mother,  that  thy  days  may  be  long  in  the  land  which 
the  Lord  thy  God  giveth  thee;  keep  holy  the  Sabbath  day 
and  live  holy;  deal  justly  with  your  neighbors,  and  strive  to 
do  good  by  establishing  societies  among  your  race  of  people ; 
be  charitable  to  all  mankind.  By  doing  this,  you  will  shun 
numerous  vices  you  may  fall  into  by  leaving  it  undone. 

A  few  days  after,  I  was  going  down  Leonard  street,  and  I 
met  a  man  that  I  knew.  I  said,  "Hallo,  Prince."  He 
answered,  "  Hallo  Tom!  how  long  have  you  been  here  ?"  I 
told  him  that  I  had  been  here  some  time.  Knowing  that  the 
fugitive  slave  law  was  still  in  force,  and  then  seeing  him,  I 
concluded  it  was  time  for  me  to  be  leaving  here.  I  took  the 
cars  and  went  to  Boston,  and  after  remaining  there  some 
time,  there  came  some  slaveholders  to  arrest  a  slave.  His 
name  was  William  Craft.  I  armed  myself  on  that  occasion, 
and  went  out  to  fight  for  him.  I  remained  there  about  three 
weeks,  and  then  went  to  New  Bedford,  and  staid  there  about 
three  weeks,  and  like  a  fox  I  came  right  back  to  where  I 
started  from — Philadelphia.  I  got  a  situation  on  a  freight 
barge,  and  the  first  morning  of  my  cooking  I  drew  a  bucket 
of  salt  water  and  made  coffee.  The  Captain  said,  "Cook,  what 
is  the  matter  with  the  coffee  ?  Why,"  said  he,  "you  have  made 
it  out  of  salt  water!"  "  No,"  said  I.  "  Well,  now,"  he  said, 
' '  taste  it. "  I  did  so,  and  after  tasting,  I  said,  ' '  Why,  captain* 
somebody  has  put  salt  into  it,  for  I  made  it  out  of  fresh 
water."  "  Well,  where  did  you  get  the  water  then?"  "I  drew 


(    23    ) 

it  from  the  side-well."  "  Is  not  that  salt,"  said  he?  "  No,  sir," 
said  I.  "Well,  then,  draw  a  bucket  and  taste  it,"  said  he. 
So  away  I  went  and  drew  it.  "  Take  a  full  drink,"  he  said. 
Not  knowing  I  took  a  dipper  and  took  a  hearty  swallow,  but 
I  tell  you  I  dropped  it  very  quick,  and  it  so  amused  the 
captain  that  he  laughed  hear  til}7.  I  always  knew  the  differ- 
ence between  salt  and  fresh  water  after  that  time. 

I  shall  now  pen  a  few  lines  of  poetry,  Although  it  is  not 
refined,  I  hope  you  will  look  upon  it  as  coming  from  a  person 
that  never  had  the  privileges  of  an  education.  Being  born  a 
slave,  all  1  can  do  is  to  venture : 

Slavery,  thou  cruel  curse, 

Tolerated  more  than  two  hundred  years; 
Corrupted  by  moral  laws, 

Supported  by  kings  and  emperors. 

Thou  forced  a  thousand  tears 

From  mothers  and  fathers  dear — 
Whilst  hearts  melted  from  fear  ; 

Hell  only  is  thy  peer. 

You  flourished  long  enough, 

To  cultivate  the  coin; 
Farewell,  old  master, 

Your  loss  is  our  gain. 

None  but  the  free 

Can  enjoy  themselves  aright — 
None  but  the  free 

Can  serve  the  Lord  indeed. 

Slavery  hath  made  a  code, 

Abridged  the  freman's  law: 
Reject  the  black,  respect  the  white, 

This  was  always  slavery's  code. 

Taney  in  his  decision, 

Confirmed  this  mode; 
His  cruel  decision 

Supported  slavery's  code. 

My  languishing  body  is  at  rest — 

Achings  and  pains  are  over; 
To  be  free  is  to  be  blessed; 

Slavery  thou  art  no  more. 

Your  clinking  chains  are  hushed, 

You  cannot  wear  our  lives  away; 
Toiling  in  the  cotton  and  cane  bush. 
Freedom  now  has  her  sway. 


(    24    ) 

And  now,  dear  reader,  I  return  to  the  place  I  left  off  at,  which 
was  concerning  the  coffee,  made  out  of,  or  made  with  salt 
water,  which  I  informed  you  I  soon  got  tired  of,  and  shortly 
after  which,  and  whilst  laying  at  Brooklyn,  New  York,  there 
came  an  Irishman  on  board  of  the  vessel,  and  said  to  me : 
"  Cook,  come  up  to  my  house  to-night;  we  are  going  to  have 
a  dance."  So  I  went  up  to  dance  with  the  Irish  girls,  and 
danced  until  my  feet  got  in  a  perspiration,  and  then  I  took  my 
boots  off  and  took  it  bare-footed,  as  I  saw  the  girls  doing  the 
same.  On  the  next  day  my  feet  were  so  swollen  that  I  was 
not  able  to  attend  to  my  business  for  a  week,  and  that  put 
an  end  to  my  dancing.  Thus  I  came  to  the  conclusion  that 
I  would  be  a  better  man. 

I  further  concluded  that  slipping  and  sliding  would  not 
find  a  place  of  safety  in  the  United  States.  I  did  not  want 
to  go  to  Canada,  because  it  was  so  cold;  at  least  from  what 
I  had  heard,  I  had  come  to  the  belief  that  it  was  so  cold  I 
could  not  live  there  at  all ;  for  I  had  been  taught  to  sing  the 
old  song:  "Wintertime,  fodder-house;  summer-time,  shady 
tree."  And  besides  hearing  such  bad  reports  of  starvation 
and  knowing  that  I  was  poor,  I  concluded  that  I  would  go 
to  California.  Standing  on  the  wharf  one  day  and  looking 
at  a  steamer  that  was  going  to  California,  the  second  pastry- 
cook backed  out,  and-  I  agreed  to  take  his  place.  The 
steamer's  name  was  the  North  America.  She  sailed  from 
New  York,  March  3d,  1851,  and  after  being  out  on  the  ocean 
three  days,  the  steward  began  talking  pretty  rough  to  me. 
I  was  going  to  whip  him,  or  give  him  a  chance  to  whip  me, 
and  he  went  forward  and  told  the  clerk.  The  clerk  came 
and  told  me  that  the  steward  was  an  officer  of  the  vessel, 
and  that  I  must  obey  him.  He  pulled  out  his  book  and 
asked  me  to  sign  the  articles.  I  told  him  no,  but  he  said  it 
was  the  rules  of  the  ship,  that  all  seamen  must  sign  the 
articles;  and  so  long  as  I  did  not  sign  them  I  was  only  a 
passenger,  working  my  way  out,  and  so  they  could  not  cuff 
me  around  as  they  did  the  others,  whenever  they  felt  dis- 
posed so  to  do. 

There  is  no  person  knows  what  hard  times  the  poor  sailors 
have,  but  those  who  go  in  vessels  to  traverse  the  briny 
ocean.  One  thing  I  know,  the  life  is  worse  than  some 
dogs  fare  in  these  United  States.  When  the  ship  landed  at 


(     25    ) 

Gorgonia,  I  told  the  purser  that  I  was  going  to  California, 
and  I  wanted  him  to  pay  me  my  money  for  my  labor.  I  said 
to  him,  "Do  you  sea  anything  green  in  my  eye?"  But, 
however,  I  concluded  that  I  was  even,  so  I  picked  up  a  pil- 
low-case, and  put  half  a  ham  in  it  and  two  loaves  of  bread, 
and  started  over  the  side  of  the  ship  with  it  into  a  boat,  and 
went  on  shore.  After  I  got  ashore  I  met  a  Californian,  and 
he  asked  me  where  I  was  going  and  where  I  'came  from.  I 
told  him  that  I  came  from  the  United  States,  and  that  I  was 
going  to  California,  if  I  could  get  there,  and  that  1  had  run 
away  from  the  ship  and  had  no  money  of  any  account.  He 
put  his  hand  into  his  pocket,  gave  me  a  ten-dollar  gold  piece, 
and  told  me  "to  keep  out  of  the  whisky  shops  and  dance 
houses,  and  you  will  do  well  in  that  country." 

Now  this  was  a  white  man,  and  there  were  seven  colored 
rnen  aboard  the  ship,  and  some  of  them  had  plenty  of  money, 
but  none  of  them  did  anything  towards  helping  me  along  at 
all.  When  I  got  up  Chagres  river,  my  money  was  gone :  I  had 
no  place  to  sleep,  and  no  money  to  pay  for  a  sleeping  place. 
I  then  went  down  on  board  of  the  boat,  turned  my  coat-col- 
lar up  and  my  hat  down  over  my  eyes.  The  next  morning 
one  of  the  passengers  saw  me,  and  he  said,  "  Have  those 
colored  boys  done  anything  for  you,  or  have  they  helped  you 
any  yet?"  I  said,  "No,  sir."  "Well,  why  don't  you  go  and 
ask  them  ?"  I  said,  "  They  know  I  have  no  money  or  any- 
thing, and  as  they  do  not  give  me  anything,  or  ask  how  I  am 
doing,  I  am  not  going  to  ask  them."  I  knew  some  of  them 
had  either  read  or  heard  the  following  words:  "  Whosoever 
hath  this  world's  goods  and  meets  his  brother  in  need,  and 
shutteth  up  his  bowels  of  compassion  from  him,  how  dwell- 
eth  the  love  of  God  in  him  ?"  He  gave  me  a  dollar,  and 
told  me  to  go  in  and  get  my  breakfast.  I  went  in  and  got 
my  breakfast,  and  started  for  Panama  about  four  o'clock  in 
the  afternoon,  leaving  the  mules  and  two  horses  out  all  night. 

went  to  the  American  Hotel,  and  1  asked  the  landlord  if  1 
could  stop  there.  He  said,  "Ye.s,"  and  the  first  man  that 
got  there  from  the  boat  was  the  man  that  gave  me  the  dollar 
on  board  the  boat  to  get  my  breakfast.  His  name  was  Mr. 
Agner.  He  said  to  me,  "  Clean  my  pants,  and  bring  me 
some  water  to  wash  my  feet,  and  1  will  see  that  your  bill  is 
paid  here."  He  then  went  to  the  landlord  and  said,  "  Give 
3 


(    26    ) 

this  man  whatever  he  wants  to  eat  and  drink,  and  I  will  p-»y 
it."  Then  the  landlord  turned  to  me  and  said,  "  I  will  give 
you  seventy-five  dollars  a  month  if  you  will  act  as  porter  for 
me."  I  assured  him  that  I  would  do  so.  The  colored  men  I 
left  behind,  who  came  on  the  ship  the  same  time,  I  met  at 
the  door.  I  said  to  them,  "Give  me  your  names,  gentlemen; 
also  your  baggage."  Say  they,  "  Get  out; where  is  the  land- 
lord?" "Give  me  your  baggage,  and  just  walk  into  the  sit- 
ting-room." But  they  still  refused  to  do  so.  I  then  called  the 
attention  of  the  landlord,  who  said,  "  Give  your  baggage  to 
this  man,  for  he  is  the  porter,  and  he  is  the  proper  represen- 
tative to  take  care  of  it;"  which  of  course  made  me  walk  as 
though  I  owned  all  the  house.  You  remember  just  the 
night  before  I  had  nowhere  to  lay  my  head ;  and  being  raised 
from  that  situation  to  the  porterage  of  one  ol  the  finest 
hotels  in  Panama,  it  was  a  large  jump.  Reader,  do  you  not 
think  I  should  have  been  grateful  for  such  a  great  beneficent 
benefactor  ?  How  I  should  strive  to  render  due  gratitude 
unto  Him :  I  should  say  with  the  poet — 

How  careful  then  ought  I  to  live, 

With  what  religious  care; 
Who  such  a  strict  account  must  give, 

For  my  behaviour  here. 

At  supper  time  I  rang  the  bell,  and  they  all  came  down  to 
supper,  the  passengers  looking  upon  me  with  much  astonish- 
ment. One  of  them,  of  dark  hue,  who  had  not  treated  me 
with  the  respect  he  ought  to  have  done,  said,  "Hallo,  Wil- 
liams, how  is  it  that  you  have  got  to  be  porter  here?"  This 
was  done  to  blandish  me.  I  then  thought  it  was  my  time  to 
treat  him  with  the  same  contempt  that  he  had  treated  me 
with  on  the  boat.  This  you  know  was  wrong;  it  was  not 
doing  as  my  Bible  taught  me.  I  once  heard  of  a  little  girl 
who  read  her  Bible,  and  gave  proof  that  she  was  governed 
by  its  precepts.  The  facts  were  these:  she  had  been  to 
school;  on  her  way  home  she  met  \vith  a  little  girl  who 
always  made  it  a  point  to  push  her  out  of  the  path.  This 
day  it  pleased  her  teacher  to  give  Emma,  for  that  was  her 
name,  a  great  many  bunches  of  grapes,  and  on  her  way 
home,  as  usual,  she  came  in  contact  with  the  other  little  girl, 
and  she  gave  this  same  little  girl  some  of  them.  Going  home 


(    27    ) 

she  told  her  mother  concerning  the  grapes,  and  she  said  to 
her,  * '  I  think  your  teacher  was  very  kind  to  give  you  so 
many."  She  told  her  mother  that  that  was  not  all  she  could 
tell  her;  for  she  had  given  some  to  a  little  girl  who  always 
pushed  her  out  of  the  path. 

I  said  to  the  man,  ' '  That  is  my  business,  sir,  and  not  for 
you  to  know."  They  staid  in  the  house  about  six  days; 
then  they  got  a  chance  to  take  the  old  steamship  Kepublic. 
Henry  Smith  went  on  board  as  steward  ;  one  man  of  dark . 
complexion  amongst  the  crowd  said,  "I  will  speak  to  Mr. 
Smith  to  get  you  a  situation  on  board."  I  said,  "  Thank 
you,  sir."  Mr.  Smith  came  to  me,  falling  back  on  his  dig- 
nity, after  he  had  been  accosted  about  me.  Speaking  to  me 
in  a  very  high  tone  of  voice  and  with  authority,  he  said, 
"  Mr.  So-and-So,"  calling  the  gentleman  by  name,  "  has  been 
talking  to  me  about  your  wanting  to  go  to  California.  Says 
he,  "The  rest  of  the  boys  have  all  been  employed,  but  if 
you  want  to  go  1  will  give  you  a  billet,  though  the  boys  have 
been  given  wages,  if  you  will  work  your  passage."  I  paused 
a  few  moments  ;  seeing  there  were  hundreds  of  people  here 
wanting  to  go  and  could  not  get  a  passage  to  California  from 
this  place,  I  soon  reflected  and  accepted  the  billet,  having  an 
idea  that  I  could  do  so  much  better  if  I  could  reach  Califor- 
nia. After  I  had  started  and  went  on  board  of  the  ship 
with  him  and  had  been  set  to  work,  I  remembered  that  I  had 
a  lot  of  Mr.  Agner's  clothes  at  the  washerwoman's,  and  he 
knew  not  where  they  were,  and  he  had  been  so  good  to  me, 
so  I  started  to  go  ashore  to  take  the  clothes  to  him.  I  spoke 
to  the  second  steward,  and  he  gave  me  permission  to  go  and 
do  so.  While  on  shore  I  met  the  head  steward,  Mr.  Smith. 
He  cursed  me  because  I  came  ashore,  and  said  I  had  no  right 
there  ;  it  made  no  matter  who  gave  me  permission  unless  it 
came  from  him.  He  said,  "  You  shall  not  go  in  the  ship,  so 
you  may  stay  here."  A  few  of  the  passengers  gathered  around 
and  heard  him  talking  to  me,  and  were  going  to  club  him. 
I  went  back  and  told  Mr.  Agner  what  had  happened,  and  he 
said,  "  Ne-ver  mind  ;  it  is  all  right.  I  will  pay  your  passage 
out  to  California  in  the  Jenny  Lind."  He  paused  for  a  few 
moments,  after  which  he  wrote  a  note  to  Capt.  Hudson.  The 
captain  looked  at  the  note,  and  then  said,  "I  thought  you 
went  aboard  in  the  steward's  boat  last  night  ?"  "I  did,  sir," 


(    28    ) 

said  I,  * '  but  the  steward  said  I  should  not  go  in  the  ship, 
because  I  came  ashore  to  get  Mr.  Agner's  clothes  that  I  had 
taken  to  the  washerwoman's  for  him."  "Then,"  says  he, 
' 'you  may  go  and  wait  on  the  doctor.  Doctor,7'  says  he, 
"you  take  this  man  to  wait  on  you  ;"  and  away  I  went  on 
board  of  the  ship  again.  The  steward  came  to  me  and  said, 
-"  What  are  you  doing  on  board  here,  sir?  Get  ashore."  I 
said,  "I  will  not  do  it,  sir."  "Then, "said  he,  "have  you 
paid  your  fare?"  Said  I,  "  That  is  none  of  your  business." 
He  then  said,  "All  right  ;  I  will  find  out,"  and  off  he  goes 
to  the  clerk.  The  clerk  said  to  him,  "  This  man  is  all  right, 
steward,  never  mind  him. "  The  next  morning  early  the  stew- 
ard came  to  me,  and  said.  "  Williams,  come  here  ;  I  want  you 
to  take  charge  of  the  first  and  second  officers  and  state-rooms, 
and  I  want  you  to  keep  them  clean."  I  saw  the  low  cunning 
and  dirty  trick  in  giving  me  rooms  that  I  could  not  make  a 
cent  off  of  them.  I  said  to  him,  "  I  will  not  do  it,"  and  he 
said  he  would  have  me  put  in  the  coal-hole  right  away,  and 
away  he  started  off.  The  captain  said,  "  What  is  the  matter 
with  you,  WJlliams,  that  you  cannot  obey  the  steward  ?"  I 
said  to  him,  "The  steward  did  not  want  me  to  come  on  board 
here,  and  now  he  wants  me  to  do  a  whole  lot  of  work,  and 
the  doctor  told  me  not  to  obey  any  one  except  the  first  officer, 
the  clerk  or  himself."  Then  said  the  captain  to  me,  "The 
steward  is  an  officer  of  the  ship,  and  if  you  have  any  time  to 
do  anything  he  asks  you  to  do,  do  it ."  He  then  turned  to  the 
steward,  and  said,"  "  Steward,  you  have  no  control  over  this 
man  ;  he  belongs  to  the  doctor."  I,  therefore,  never  had 
any  time  to  do  anything  for  him,  and  I  was  a  complete  pet 
among  the  passengers.  They  gave  me  money,  and  they  also 
gave  me  six  boxes  of  wine.  One  man  of  dark  hue,  who  was 
steerage  steward,  whose  name  was  William  Nutter,  from  Bos- 
ton, come  to  me  to  buy  this  wine.  He  had  no  money,  but 
the  steward  went  his  security.  This  was  done  to  cheat  me, 
but  I  was  not  aware  of  it.  After  we  were  out  about  six  days, 
the  saloon  waiter  was  taken  sick,  and  I  had  to  doctor  him. 
I  noticed  one  day  that  the  head  steward,  the  second  steward 
and  the  store-keeper,  were  drinking  a  bottle  of  champagne 
wine.  The  head  steward  called  me  and  gave  me  a  glass. 
This  he  done  to  deceive  me,  and  he  said,  at  the  same  time, 
"  I  am  very  sorry  that  I  did  not  hire  you  and  put  you  on 


(    29    ) 

wages,"  and  he  said  to  me,  "  Won't  you  come  down,  and 
wait  on  the  captain's  dinner,  and  1  will  fix  it  so  that  you  can 
get  a  little  money  from  the  ship/'  I  done  so  the-next  day. 
He  said  tome,  "  Williams,  if  you  will  take  these  state-rooms 
'and  take  care  of  them,  you  will  be  able  to  make  something 
off  of  them,  for  I  see  you  are  the  best  man  in  the  ship,"  and  I, 
being  inexperienced  at  the  time,  and  anxious  to  make-  all  that 
I  could,  bit  at  the  bait,  but  never  ate  it.  I  never  made  a 
cent  for  my  time  or  labor,  so  you  can  see  what  a  man  that  has 
made  his  escape  from  the  blood-hounds  hath  to  undergo  to 
reach  the  shores  of  California,  where  he  could  be  free  and 
safe  from  all  danger  of  being  apprehended.  Whilst  in  that 
country  I  saw  some  that  I  had  to  run  away  from,  yet  I  would 
have  you  to  understand  that  I  had  no  running  away  to  do  in 
California.  The  boat  was  caught  in  a  gale,  and  we  were  four 
weeks  getting  from  Panama  to  San  Francisco. 

On  the  15th  day  of  May,  1851,  I  took  a  little  boat,  called 
the  Jenny  Lind,  and  came  to  Sacramento,  and  I  then  started 
to  the  mines.  The  first  place  I  came  to  was  called  Negro 
Hills.  I  worked  there  some  time  and  made  nothing  but  my 
board.  At  that  fime  there  were  no  stages  in  the  country  at 
all,  and  we  miners  had  to  go  on  horseback  and  on  foot.  I 
made  up  my  mind  to  leave  this  part  of  the  diggings;  I 
did  so,  and  started  for  Kelsey's  Diggings.  I  packed  my 
rocker  that  we  washed  the  gold  with,  my  prospect-pan,  and 
my  pick  and  shovel,  and  led  the  way.  I  started  over  the 
hills  and  valleys,  prospecting  for  gold,  and  my  bed,  when 
night  came  on,  was  under  some  cedar  tree,  and  I  had  to  pack 
my  grub  under  my  head  to  keep  the  wolves  and  coyotes  from 
stealing  it.  We  had  no  law  in  the  country  at  that  time,  and 
so  we  miners  constituted  a  law  tor  ourselves.  I  was  one  of 
the  miners  that  was  present  on  an  occasion  to  try  another 
miner  for  the  crime  of  stealing  $50  from  another.  We  put  a 
rope  around  his  neck  and  intended  to  frighten  him,  and  he 
said  if  we  let  him  down  he  would  tell;  so  we  let  him  down, 
and  he  went  and  got  the  money.  Had  he  not  got  the  money, 
what  the  result  would  have  been  I  am  unable  to  tell  the 
reader;  one  thing  I  am  about  to  affirm,  I  would  never  have 
consented  to  have  taken  the  man's  life.  I  was  the  only  col- 
ored man  in  the  crowd,  and  it  was  left  for  me  to  pass  my 
opinion,  and  I  said,  ' '  If  he  gives  up  the  money  let  him  go ;" 


(    30    ) 

for  I  felt  greatly  opposed  to  taking  the  man's  life;  yet  in  a 
body  of  men  there  are  always  different  opinions,  and  I  do 
not  think  the  poor  fellow  would  have  had  much  lenity  shown 
to  him,  it  being  thought  a  very  dastardly  trick  for  one  miner 
to  steal  from  another. 

Any  man  that  made  up  his  mind  to  go  to  the  mines  at  that 
time,  he  must  be  a  man  that  feared  no  noise,  or  else  he  had 
better  stay  at  home,  for  the  miners  feared  no  noise  at  that 
time,  it  being  a  newly-settled  country  with  wild  beasts  and 
also  wild  people.     I  belonging  to  the  party  that  believed  in 
liberty,  it  made  me  a  little  wild  also.  Persons  living  in  places 
where  they  have  to  be  a  law  to  themselves,  are,  of  course, 
nearly  or   quite  as  apt  to  resort   to   very  stringent   laws  as 
the  more  sure  remedy  to  lessen  crime.     Whether  it  be  the 
fact  or  not,  it  requires  thought,  as  time  expounds  all  mira- 
cles, and  it  takes  time  to  tell  about  that.     However,  the  state 
of  things  is  much  better  now  in  California  than  was  the  case 
on  my  arrival  there.     Many  adventures  have  been  made  by 
persons  from  the  States,  colored  and  white.     There  are  now 
instances  on  record  where  both  classes  have  gathered  con- 
siderable of  this  world's  goods.     Some  are  now  enjoying  the 
benefits  of  their  labor,  whilst  others,    who  worked  hard  in 
the  mines  and  have  gathered  a  large  portion  of  this  world's 
goods  and  have  had  no  advantage,  neither  will  they  ever  reap 
any  advantage  hereafter  from  their  privations,  although  they 
have  borne  the  burden  in  the  heat  of  the  day — collected  the 
spoils;  but,  ah,  they  have  sown  sparingly — they  have  sowed 
the  good  seed  sparingly,  I  mean;  but  ill- gotten  means  never 
stay  long  with  the  receiver.  Some  have  plundered  and  robbed, 
perhaps  I   may   say  truthfully,  murdered;  anyway,  just   so 
that  I  get — no  matter  about  the  remaining — just  so  I  get  my 
booty.     I  have  never  for  a  moment  thought  of  wronging  any 
one  out  of  their  dues;  that  is  what  made  me  so  bitter  against 
slaveholders.     By  reading  this  book  ere  this  you   are  con- 
vinced that  I  have  been  bitter  against  such  men.     But  for 
the  Emancipation  Proclamation  I  should  be    the  same  this 
day,  although,  like  many  others,  I  have  been  accused  through 
life  falsely. 

On  the  15th  day  of  May,  A.  D.  1851,  you  have  learned  I 
arrived  in  the  city  of  Sacramento.  You  have  also  learned 
that  I  worked  in  the  gold  mines  called  Nigger  Hills ;  I  worked 


(    31    ) 

there  about  six  months,  and  seeing  nothing  could  be  made 
there  I  left  and  went  to  Kelsey's  Diggings.  I  worked  there 
about  three  months,  with  no  better  success.  I  then  returned 
to  the  city  of  Sacramento.  I  there  commenced  carrying  the 
hod,  which  I  did  for  three  months,  at  six  dollars  per  day. 
After  which  I  bought  out  the  goodwill  and  fixtures  of  a  large 
restaurant,  and  kept  it  for  the  entertainment  of  the  whites. 
Be  it  known,  that  about  that  time  there  was  a  number  of 
slaves  brought  to  California  by  their  masters,  one  of  which 
was  a  woman,  brought  there  by  her  master,  who  would  not 
allow  one  man  or  men  to  go  to  his  house.  But  I  went  there, 
taking  a  white  man  with  me  at  the  time,  and  took  her  away. 
In  a  few  days  her  master  comes  to  my  establishment,  bring- 
ing with  him  an  officer,  who  presented  a  pistol  at  me,  saying, 
at  the  same  time,  "  Williams,  you  must  go  and  get  that  wo- 
man you  stole  from  Mr.  Wholeman,  or  I  will  blow  your 
brains  out."  "Very  good,  sir,"  says  I,  "come  on,"  I  lead- 
ing the  way.  Taking  him  direct  into  lawyer  Zabriski's 
office,  I  alleged  my  complaint  against  him  for  pointing 
a  six-shooter  at  me,  and  he  was  held  for  trial,  which 
was  given  in  my  favor.  Of  course  I  retained  her,  and,  in 
one  week  after,  this  woman  left  and  went  back  to  her  master, 
telling  him  that  I  threatened  to  shoot  him.  His  party  get- 
ting after  me  caused  me  to  leave  there,  and  on  the  boat  ply- 
ing between  Sacramento  and  San  Francisco  I  was  attacked 
by  a  party  of  Missourians,  and  beaten  very  badly,  and  had 
to  be  rescued  by  the  captain,  after  having  run  into  the  ladies' 
saloon. 

From  thence  I  took  the  boat  and  went  to  Mexico, 
irom  Mexico  I  went  to  Guaymas,  and  there  I  was  robbed 
by  a  woman,  I  seeing  her  when  she  committed  the 
robbery  whilst  I  was  laying  in  bed.  I  arose  in  the  morn- 
ing, and,  after  having  dressed  myself,  went  to  her  room  and 
knocked  at  the  door.  I  told  her  I  wanted  her  to  give  me  my 
money.  She  soon  went  and  brought  her  brother,  who  in- 
formed me,  if  I  said  that  his  sister  robbed  me  he  would  cut 
my  head  off.  I  told  him  that  I  did  not  say  so.  He  then 
told  me  that  I  must  treat  him.  I  had  only  $2  50;  however, 
I  treated  him  and  I  was  left  without  money,  and  I  had  to  be 
out  some  three  or  four  weeks  without  any  means  at  all  to  de- 
pend upon.  I  at  last  got  a  chance  to  work  my  passage  to 


(    32    ) 

Mazatlan,  and  on  arriving  there  without  anything  or  any 
money,  all  I  had  to  live  on  was  a  sixpence  per  day,  and  the 
way  I  procured  that  was,  I  in  general  begged  it  from  the 
sailors.  At  this  time  I  sold  my  coat  -the  only  one  I  had  got. 
Having  but  one  shirt,  I  used  to  go  to  the  shore  and  wash  it, 
and  lay  there  until  it  was  dry.  The  bed  1  laid  on  Avas  the 
ground;  often  were  the  times  when  the  police  wanted  to  ar- 
rest me,  but  I  would  not  consent,  because  I  said  to  him, 
' '  The  earth  only  is  my  bed,  the  canopy  my  covering,  and 
often  a  rock  my  pillow."  Thus,  you  see  how  I  got  along  so 
far.  Be  it  known  that  I,  at  this  time,  had  a  chum,  a  white 
man.  He  and  I  agreed  to  ship  and  go  to  Talcuana.  We  did 
so  by  shipping  in  a  bark  named  the  Calilena;  the  captain's 
name  was  Wilson — kuo\vn  then  by  the  mime  of  Bully  Wil- 
son, from  the  fact  that  he  was  said  to  flog  all  the  sailors  h0" 
hired.  I  and  my  partner  concluded  that,  as  it  only  took  two 
months  to  make  the  trip,  we  could  make  the  voyage  with 
him,  as  v/e  said  we  could  live  with  Old  Sammy  three  months. 
On  the  voyage  he  flogged  all  hands  except  us.  We  con- 
cluded, as  a  matter  of  course,  that  our  turn  was  next.  Ac- 
cordingly, we  fixed  our  mind  in  this  way,  that  if  he  flogged 
one  he  must  be  man  enough  to  flog  both.  At  length  he  com- 
menced with  me,  and  my  chum  seconded  the  motion,  and  we 
had  a  free  thing  of  it.  In  the  melee  I  received  a  mark  that 
I  shall  carry  to  my  grave.  However,  we  made  port;  the  crew 
was  arraigned  for  mutiny,  or,  however,  he  discharged  all  the 
crew  except  me  and  my  chum.  Him  he  put  in  prison  for 
mutiny,  and  me  he  retained  on  board.  I  told  him,  after  he 
had  hired  n  Spanish  crew,  he  had  broke  the  articles  of  agree- 
ment, and  he  must  discharge  me.  But  he  would  not,  saying 
that  he  could  not  do  without  me;  consequently  1,  that  night, 
ran  away  from  the  ship.  As  a  matter  of  course  he  had  to 
get  a  Spanish  cook  and  leave.  Out,  before  he  left,  he  saw 
the  American  Consul,  and  advised  him,  when  I  came  in  town, 
to  have  me  arrested  and  tried,  and,  if  found  guilty,  to  make 
me  serve  out  my  time  in  the  prison  or  chain-gang.  Luckily, 
I  could  talk  the  Spanish  language,  and  I  gained  the  favor  of 
the  chief  officer,  and  by  his  means  my  chum  and  I  were  re- 
leased from  prison,  and  1  reshipped  in  a  ship  named  Kate 
Hayes,  for  California,  and  after  I  had  shipped  on  board  of 
the  above-named  vessel,  learning  that  1  had  shipped  with 


(     33     ) 

another  bad  man,  I  did,  as  I  always  think  of  doing,  making 
the  best  of  a  bad  bargain.  I  found  there  was  no  error  in  the 
report,  for  no  sooner  than  the  first  or  second  morning  did  I 
receive  a  partial  chastisement  from  him.  I  bore  with  him 
until  I  was  some  five  or  six  days  out  at  sea,  when,  one  morn- 
ing, I  made  my  mind  up  that  I  wa*s  now  safe  to  carry  out  my 
designs.  Accordingly,  he  had  been  told  by  the  mate  to  let 
me  alone,  but  he  would  not.  I  turned  on  him  one  morning, 
and  after  fighting  some  time,  I,  after  being  called  to  by  the 
mate,  related  my  grievance  to  him,  but  still  kept  on  fighting. 
The  mate  called  the  captain,  who,  after  seeing  the  situation> 
said  that  we  should  fight  it  out.  Finding  him  rather  good 
for  a  knock  down,  I  gathered  him  for  a  rough  and  tumble — 
as  used  to  be  the  common  way  of  fighting.  After  throwing 
him,  I  struck  him  whilst  down.  The  captain  then  struck  me 
with  a  main-brace,  and  I  ran  and  refused  to  fight;  he  made 
me  come  back,  for  he  had  called  all  of  the  passengers  to  wit- 
ness the  fight,  and  had  declared  we  should  fight  it  out  on  that 
line,  as  General  Grant  said.  I  went  back  and  commenced  the  old 
field-fight.  Reader,  are  you  aware  of  the  old  field-fight  what 
it  is  ?  I  mean  butting,  and  I  held  him  and  butted  him  un- 
til he  sang  an  old  song — which  was  murder.  I  tell  you,  af- 
ter that,  I  had  peace.  Arriving  at  San  Francisco  in  the  Fall 
of  '53,  1  there  found  civil  law  established.  Then  I  concluded 
that  I  could  remain,  and  not  be  molested  by  Copper- 
heads or  Southern  sympathizers,  as  I  had  done  before.  I 
then  concluded  to  make  my  abode  there  for  awhile,  and 
therefore  I  did.  I  returned  back  in  the  fall  of  '53,  as  you 
have  learned.  In  '54  I  was  private  watchman  for  James 
King  of  Wm.,  who  was  killed  by  Casey,  who  was  afterwards 
hung  by  the  Vigilance  Committee  for  the  crime  in  '55.  I 
then  returned  to  Sacramento,  and  came  to  the  conclusion 
that  I  would  get  work  on  the  Levee,  but  as  no  colored  per- 
sons had  ever  worked  there,  it  was  determined  that  I  should 
not,  and  after  repeated  interruptions,  which  resulted  in  suits 
at  law,  and  me  paying  fines,  having  my  property  destroyed, 
etc.,  and  at  length  fights,  I  proved  my  determination  to 
them,  and  they  gave  me  countenance.  Since  which  time  the 
way,  through  my  determination,  hath  been  opened,  and  col- 
ored men  can  now  work  on  the  Levee,  as  much  so  as  white 
men,  and  be  respected  in  their  doings.  It  must  be  acknowl- 
4 


(     34     ) 

edged  by  all  that  the  credit  is  due  to  me  for  opening  the  way 
successfully,  by  hardships  endured  by  me,  like  a  good  sol- 
dier, having  witnessed  the  bad  usage  of  colored  men  on  the 
Levee.  This  will  be  understood  to  have  been  done  pre- 
vious to  the  state  of  things  as  they  now  exist ;  1  am  aware 
such  is  not  the  case  now.  P  speak  of  the  time  when  such  law 
as  existed  in  the  State  of  Delaware,  prior  to  the  passage  of 
the  civil  rights  bill,  when  the  oath  of  a  black  man  was  ob- 
jected to,  and  the  court  was  bound  to  sustain  the  objection. 
Agreeable  to  the  pending  law,  the  colored  people  were  not 
allowed  their  oath  against  a  white  man.  Now  we  have  rights 
of  oath  in  the  civil  courts;  thank  God  for  that. 

I  then  went  to  work  in  the  Southern  mines  for  a  man,  at 
$100  per  month,  and,  after  working  for  him  some  six  months, 
he  either  raised  a  false  report,  or  caused  one  to  be  raised,  in 
order  to  get  a  certain  class  of  men  to  pursue  me,  to  make 
me  leave  the  place,  to  elude  paying  me  my  money,  and  he  ac- 
complished his  design.  Meeting  him  sometime  after  and 
asking  him  for  my  money,  he  told  me  that  were  he  me  he 
would  not  want  any  money — that  I  should  be  glad  that  I 
got  off  with  my  life,  much  less  receiving  any  money. 

In  '56  I  returned  to  Sacramento  again,  and  kept  a  junk- 
store  on  Second  street.  During  the  same  year  I  sold  out  my 
store,  and  went  to  driving  an  express  wagon,  and  remained 
sometime  at  that  business.  In  '57 — I  suppose  the  reader 
perhaps  has  heard  concerning  the  Archy  case,  which  was  the 
arrest,  and  an  attempt  to  remand  the  said  Archy,  he  being, 
at  that  time,  a  slave.  I  was  the  first  man  in  the  fray,  which 
occurred  on  the  night  of  the  attempted  arrest,  which  was 
consummated,  and  they  gained  the  suit;  yet  we  succeeded  in 
rescuing  the  man,  and  sent  him  to  Vancouver  Island,  and  he, 
Archy,  is  now  a  resident  of  Sacramento.  Boarding  in  the 
house  together,  I,  his  fellow,  who  aided  in  the  rescue,  we 
have  talked  over  the  matter  often.  I  feel  proud  of  the  few 
I  have  aided  to  escape  from  slavery.  I  know  the  ills  of  it, 
though  I  was  young  when  I  cast  off  the  yoke  of  bondage 
from  my  shoulder,  feeling  myself  a  little  larger.  Thinking, 
with  a  number  of  my  colored  friends,  that  I  would  like  to 
breath  purer  air,  I,  with  a  number,  emigrated  to  Vancouver 
Island,  where  we  thought  the  air  was  more  pure;  but,  on  ar- 
riving there,  finding  the  air  somewhat  tainted,  I  returned 


(    35    ) 

back  to  Sacramento,  and  went  back  to  my  old  business,  driv- 
ing an  express  wagon.  I  remained  in  this  business  until  '59, 
when  the  Washoe  excitement  broke  out.  I  caught  the  fever 
also,  and  sold  out,  and  all  the  money  that  I  gained  by  sale,  I 
spent  in  provisions,  and  started.  I  met  persons  returninr 
who  had  started,  and  they  informed  me  that  I  could  never 
arrive  at  the  place.  I  had  determined  to  go  to  Virginia  City, 
Washoe.  I  arrived  at  Strawberry  Valley,  in  which  there  was 
a  great  many  persons,  who  had  arrived  there  before  me,  and 
it  looked  doubtful  to  any  one.  Yet  having  all  I  owned  at 
stake,  besides  having  borrowed  some  fifty  dollars,  and  being 
broke,  I  resolved  to  trust  in  God,  and  go  and  see  the  end,  or 
die  in  the  attempt.  There  was  a  good  bed  of  snow  on  the 
ground.  Having  two  horses  with  me,  I  provided  as  best  I 
I  could,  and  lay  down  on  the  ground.  In  the  morning  I  was 
covered  with  snow  and  my  horses  also.  After  repeated  en- 
treaties not  to  attempt  it,  I,  with  several  others,  started 
through  the  snow,  and  at  times  our  horses  were  down  and  up ; 
yet  we  crossed  the  Summit,  and  made  the  quickest  trip  on 
record.  But  it  was  through  much  fatigue.  We  encamped  in 
the  valley  of  Genoa,  proving  by  demonstration  that  a  man 
cannot  tell  what  he  can  endure  until  he  puts  his  might  into 
will.  After  we  recruited,  we  started  for  Virginia  City,  and 
after  arriving  there  the  people  ran  to  meet  us  to  purchase 
the  produce  which  we  had.  Flour,  at  that  time,  was  worth 
one  dollar  per  pound.  We  disposed  of  what  we  had,  I  real- 
izing three  hundred  dollars  for  what  flour  I  had.  To  the 
best  of  my  judgment  I  disposed  of  the  produce,  and  after 
being  fully  satisfied  with  my  adventure,  I  tried  to  make  as 
good  an  observation  of  the  surroundings  as  I  could,  viewing 
with  the  utmost  precaution  all  that  came  under  my  notice, 
which  I  will  defer  saying  anything  about  at  present. 

Reader,  I  have  lived  long  ;  have  traveled  in  numerous 
parts  of  1;he  world  ;  have  observed  many  things.  I  have 
learned  things  that  would  perhaps  be  of  great  service  to 
many  that  this  little  treatise  may  fall  into  the  hands  of.  I 
have  learned  to  strive  to  live  as  peaceably  as  lieth  in  my 
power  with  /ill  persons,  to  insure  safety  of  person,  for  better 
is  it  to  have  the  good  favor  of  a  dog  than  the  ill-will  of  him, 
for  I  have  learned,  by  ill-using  him,  that  he  will  remember 
the  abuse.  I  have  learned  by  experience  that  kindness  is 


(    36    ) 

never  forgotten  by  the  creature.  He  has  been  known  to 
think  of  or  remember  his  master  so  much  or  so  long,  that, 
when  his  master  hath  been  borne  to  the  grave,  he  hath  fol- 
lowed the  procession.  He  has  carried  his  young  master's 
toys  and  playthings,  scratched  a  hole  in  the  earth  where  the 
body  was  deposited,  and  put  them  in  ;  after  being  confined 
to  prevent  this  recurring,  he  has  moaned,  in  his  way,  until 
he  has  been  released,  and  has  then  refused  to  eat,  and  finally 
has  stretched  himself  on  the  grave,  and  there  remained  until 
he  expired.  Could  it  be  thought  for  a  moment  that  ill- 
usage  ever  caused  him  to  do  thus  ?  I  answer,  no  !  I  have 
learned  this  by  experience. 

I  have  told  you,  ere  this,  concerning  a  gentleman  who 
gave  me  a  ten-dollar  gold  piece  when  in  a  strange  country, 
out  of  money  and  friends,  for  all  was  strange  to  me.  Think 
you  I  can  ever  forget  the  act  of  kindness  that  gentleman  done 
me?  No.  I  could  not  think  of  ever  forgetting  it.  I  have  met 
several  gentlemen  that  I  shall  always  remember,  and  when, 
at  my  secret  devotions,  they  appears  foremost  in  my  mind, 
oh,  how  bright  they  do  appear.  It  seems  that  I  carry  them 
to  the  haven  of  eternal  repose.  I  also  have  learned  that  I 
must,  if  I  expect  friends,  show  myself  friendly,  for  it  is  a 
fact  uncontradicted  successfully.  I  have  learned  experimen- 
tally, if  I  act  selfishly  with  persons  I  need  expect  nothing 
short  of  it.  Believe  me,  the  man  of  generosity  receives  the 
same.  Says  the  teacher  of  Christianity,  be  kind  and  affec- 
tionate one  to  another,  not  begrudging  ;  that  is  not  the  way 
to  receive  generosity,  by  no  means.  Let  this  be  remem- 
bered, dear  reader,  you  may  be  in  the  situation  that  I  have 
been  in  before  now,  surrounded  by  strangers,  not  one  cent 
in  your  pocket,  and  not  a  place  to  lay  your  head  ;  you  will 
then  wish  to  come  across  a  friend — one  who  will  take  you 
upon  his  own  breast  and  take  you  to  an  inn,  and  say  to  the 
landlord  :  "  Take  care  of  this  man  or  woman,  anS.  when  I 
return  I  will  pay  you."  Oh,  what  joy  would  spring  up  in 
your  heart  !  I  have  witnessed  the  like  myself  by  my  own 
experience,  when  in  a  strange  land.  Further,  in  my  travels, 
I  have  found  out,  to  my  satisfaction,  that  to  command  the 
respect  of  others  or  from  others,  one  lesson  I  must  first  learn, 
that  is,  to  respect  myself,  which  implies  respect  beggeth  re- 
spect. For  if  the  individuals  first  respect  themselves 


(     37     ) 

others  will  respect  them  in  turn.  I  have  found  the  same  in 
all  my  journeys  through  life.  In  all  places  that  I  have  been 
in  the  rule  holds  to  be  the  same.  Reader,  respect  yourself, 
and  you  will  be  respected.  You  will  live  "  that  the  world 
may  be  made  better  by  you,  and  you  will  die  regretted  by 
all  who  endeavor  to  respect  themselves."  After  I  had  made 
my  escape  from  one  of  the  American  slaveholders,  whose 
name  I  have  given  you,  I  walked  by  the  same  rule  I  have 
endeavored  to  lay  down  here  for  you  to  govern  yourself  by, 
and  I  never  give  advice  to  anyone  unless  E  first  proved  the 
same  to  be  good  for  the  receiver.  Thus  my  rule  is,  first  to 
be  sure  that  I  am  right,  then  go  ahead.  It  is  the  only  sure 
road  to  the  summit  for  all  who  wish  to  rise  in  life. 

I  previously  promised   to   tell  you  more   about  Washoe 
After  I  had  sold  my  flour,  I  thought  that  I   would  purchase 
some  land  there,  but  after  inquiry,  I  found   the  customs  did 
not  suit  me,  as  I  learned  that  shooting  was  the  order  of  the 
day.     If  there  would  be  a  bargain  effected  with  a  party,  and 
there   arose  any  misunderstanding,  redress  appeared  to  be 
only  had  by  shooting.     I  found   that  would  not  suit  me    at 
all.     I  then  relinquished  the  thought  of  buying  land  in  that 
place.     I  then  went   to   Carson  City,   but  ere  I  went  there 
I  returned   to  Sacramento,  and  made  another  trip  and  was 
caught  in  a  storm  and   lost  all  of  my  produce,  but  after  ar- 
riving at  Carson  City  I  sold  one  horse,  and  bought  six  lots, 
and  then  went  to  work  by  hand.     This   was  done  in   '60. 
During  the  same  year  there  was  a  flood  in  Sacramento,  and 
I,    at  that  time,  owned  a  house    there.     That  was   washed 
away.     After  working  by  hand  some   two  months  and  re- 
ceiving nothing,  the  customs  being  such,  I  returned  to  Cali- 
fornia, and  remained  there  until  '63,   at  my  old  business.     I 
then  went  back  to  Carson  City,  and  sold  the  property  owned 
by  me.     I  then  went  to  Virginia  City,  and  bought  six  lots, 
and  went  back  in  '65  and  sold  two  lots,  realizing  $2,500  for 
them.     I  then  returned  to  California,   and   got  a  billet  on 
board  of  the  cars,   and  held  it  for  two  months.     I  was  then 
taken  sick,   and  so   remained  for  eighteen  months,  and  so  I 
lost  my  billet.     In  the  year  1867  I  was  appointed  agent  and 
collector  by  the  trustees  of  A.  M.  E.  Church,  in  the  city  of  Sac- 
ramento, and  acknowledged  by  the  then  elder — now  Bishop 
Ward — as  agent,  collector  and  superintendent  of  the  above 


(    38   ) 

church,  and  I  went  forward  and  I  built  the  church,  yet,  like 
all  other  great  undertakings  by  man,  the  credit  that  was  due 
me  I  did  not  get.  The  reader  is  aware  of  the  fact  that  when 
in  public  life,  we  cannot  get  the  praise  due  us  in  our  under- 
takings. I  finished  the  church,  receiving  for  my  labor  two 
dollars  per  day,  traveling  expenses,  board  and  all  paid  me. 
I  held  the  above  office  until  '69,  when  I  settled  up  and  re- 
signed my  situation.  There  was  now  a  situation  awaiting 
for  me  to  accept — the  agency  of  building  or  collecting  for 
and  superintending  the  building  of  another  A.  M.  E.  church 
in  San  Francisco  on  my  return  there,  which  I  call  my  home. 
I  thought  in  tliis  short  treatise,  I  would  give  my  experience, 
and  the  treatment  which  I  have  met  with.  I  have  never  had 
the  privilege  of  attending  school,  being  born  a  slave,  and 
not  having  the  chance  of  education.  Having  been  informed, 
in  part,  what  education  would  do  for  me,  how  I  have  wished 
for  to  be  young  again,  and  have  the  privilege  of  going  to  school. 
I  have  been  told  a  great  deal  about  its  effects.  It  is  said  by 
one,  1  am  informed,  the  term  education,  when  employed  in 
its  primitive  sense  and  literal  signification,  means  the  draw- 
ing out  or  development  of  the  human  faculties.  When  we 
look  on  a  child  we  perceive  at  once  that,  besides  corporeal 
organs  and  powers,  he  has  a  spiritual  nature,  in  which  these 
organs  act  themselves,  but  not  an  unmeaning  activity.  We  see 
that  this  little  being  has  intelligence,  sensibility  and  will.  Such 
powers  exist  in  early  infancy  but  as  germs,  which  are  des- 
tined, however,  to  burst  forth,  and  which,  like  the  vegetat- 
ing powers  of  the  seed  that  we  have  planted,  are  ready  to 
be  directed  and  controlled  by  us  almost  at  our  will.  As  we 
can  train  to  a  healthy  and  graceful  maturity  the  young  plant, 
which,  if  neglected,  would  have  proved  unsightly  and  sterile, 
so  we  can  train  up  in  the  way  he  should  go  that  child,  who, 
if  left  to  himself,  would  have  almost  been  vicious  and  ignorant. 
It  is  the  peculiar  pliablity  and  impressibility  of  this  early 
period  of  life  that  gives  it  such  claims  on  the  educator, 
whether  his  intellectual  or  his  moral  powers  can  hold  inter- 
course with  or  act  upon  the  world  without,  except  through 
the  material  organs.  And  in  our  present  state  these  organs  are 
also  necessary  to  the  soul,  even  in  its  more  spiritual  operations , 
and  they  weigh  it  down  to  imbecility  whenever  they  become 
greatly  diseased  or  enfeebled.  When  habit  has  once  fastened 


(     39    ) 

itself  on  the  intellect  or  the  heart,  and  the  heart's  appeals 
and  influences  are  comparatively  powerless,  in  whatever  de- 
gree, then  it  may  be  our  interest  and  duty  to  promote  the 
welfare  of  our  fellow  creatures,  and  especially  of  our  own 
children  in  the  same  degree.  Thus  it  becomes  important 
that  we  lose  no  portion  of  that  precious  seed-time  of  their 
lives.  Hardly  any  season  is  too  early  for  the  culture  of 
this  soil,  and  if  it  would  be  reckoned  the  height  of  guilt  to 
refuse  food  or  raiment  of  the  body  to  a  helpless  little  one, 
what  must  be  that  cruel  neglect.which  leaves  its  nobler  nature 
to  pine,  and  finally  to  perish  for  lack  of  knowledge.  Educa 
ted.  in  one  sense,  this  child  will  be  for  weal  or  woe. 

For  nature's  crescent  does  not  grow  alone 
In  thews  and  bulks,  but  as  this  temple  wears, 
The  inward  service  of  the  mind  and  soul 
Grows  wide  withal. 

It  is  for  the  parent  or  guardian  to  decide  what  character 
this  development  shall  take.  The  power  of  education  we 
are  not  disposed  to  overrate.  It  has  sometimes  been  de- 
scribed, even  bv  wise  men,  as  an  all-prevailing  element  or 
agent,  which  can  turn  the  minds  of  children,  as  easily  this 
way  or  that,  as  water  itself,  and  before  which  all  original 
differences  may  be  made  to  disappear.  It  seems  to  us  that 
a  slight  acquaintance  with  children  is  sufficient  to  refute 
this  story  or  theory.  Even  when  reared  in  the  same  family, 
and  subject  to  the  same  course  of  physical  and  moral  training, 
they  exhibit,  amid  a  general  resemblance  in  manners  and 
principles,  the  greatest  diversity  of  endowments  and  dispo- 
sitions. It  is  evidently  not  to  be  desired  that  all  men  and 
women  should  be  cast  in  the  same  intellectual,  more  than  in 
the  same  corporeal  mould.  And  hence,  though  compounded 
of  the  same  primitive  elements,  these  elements  have  been  so 
variously  mingled  and  combined,  that  each  individual  has 
his  own  peculiar  and  indestructible  nature,  as  well  as  his  own 
sphere  of  action,  that  thus  every  place  and  calling  can  be 
filled.  As  this  variety  then  exists,  and  never  can  be  entirety 
effaced,  it  ought  to  be  respected  in  education  ;  but  does  it 
follow  that  the  work  of  education  is,  therefore,  slight  or  un- 
important, while  we  are  bound  to  take  the  individual  as  he 
is.  And  having  his  peculiar  type  of  character  and  measure 


(     40     ) 

of  capacity,  to  keep  these  ever  in  view,  is  there  not  still  a 
vast  work  to  be  accomplished?  It  is  the  business  of  educa- 
tion to  watch  the  dormant  powers,  and  foster  their  healthy  and 
well-proportioned  growth;  restraining  and  repressing  where 
their  natural  activity  is  too  great,  and  stimulating  where 
they  are  too  feeble.  To  respect  each  one's  individuality  is 
not  only  consistent  with  this  great  work  but  is  indispensable 
to  its  highest  success.  Doing  so,  we  can  effect  vast  changes 
and  improvements  in  character;  the  sluggish  we  may  not  be 
able  to  inspire  with  great  vivacity,  nor  subdue  the  ardent  or 
enthusiastic  to  the  tone  and  calm  of  a  calculating  spirit. 
But  we  can  arrest  the  dangerous  tendencies  in  each.  We 
can  correct  mental  obliquities  and  distortions,  and  cultivate 
a  healthy  and  self-improving  power.  We  can  study  the  pur- 
poses of  the  Creator  in  framing  such  a  mind,  and  strive  wise- 
ly as  well  as  unceasingly  to  fulfill  those  purposes.  In  a  word, 
we  can  labor  to  rear  this  child,  yet  without  fixed  character  or 
compacted  energies,  to  the  stature  of  a  perfect  man  or 
woman.  As  one  star  is  different  from  another  star  in  mag- 
nitude and  splendor,  though  each  in  its  appointed  place  is 
equally  perfect,  so,  in  the  intellectual  firmament,  one  mind 
may  outshine  another,  and  yet  both  alike  be  perfect  in  their 
sphere,  and  in  fulfilling  the  missions  assigned  by  God.  Mil- 
ton has  called  that  a  complete  and  generous  education 
which  fits  a  man  to  perform  justly,  skillfully  and  magnani- 
mously all  the  offices,  both  private  and  public,  of  peace  and 
of  war.  It  is  evident  that  such  an  education  can  be  enjoyed 
only  by  a  few,  and  that,  though  enjoyed  by  all,  it  would  be- 
stow on  but  a  limited  number  the  lofty  capacities  indicated 
by  the  great  poet.  A  vast  proportion  of  the  walks  of  human 
life  are  humble  and  sheltered.  Let  us  be  grateful,  however, 
that,  while  in  such  walks  we  escape  the  fiery  trials  which 
await  those  who  tread  the  high  places  of  earth,  they  still 
afford  scope  and  opportunity  for  the  exercise  of  the  most 
manly  and  generous  qualities.  He  may  be  great  both  men- 
tally and  intellectually  who  has  filled  no  distinguished  office, 
either  of  peace  or  war.  Let  it  rather  be  our  object,  then, 
in  rearing  the  young,  to  form  a  perfect  character,  to  build 
up  a  spirit  of  which  all  must  say,  as  was  said  of  Brutus  by 
Anthony : 

His  life  was  gentle,  and  the  elements 

So  mixe'd  in  him,  that  nature  might  stand  up 

And  say  to  all  the  world,  this  was  a  man. 


(    41     ) 

I  have  here  narrated  a  few  simple  facts  of  what  some  men 
of  literary  attainments  call  education,  and  by  me,   perusing 
as  well  as  I  could,   it  gives    me  a  faint  glimpse  of  what  I 
might  have  been  if  I  had  been  sent  to  school   when  young; 
and  by  perusing  this  little  treatise  you  may  consider  as  I 
have,  that  no  one  can  tell  what  they  can  do,  if  they  only  have 
a  mind.     As  we  often  say,  where  there  is  a  will  to  do,  there 
always  is  a  way  to  perform.     I  am  of  opinion  that  such  lan- 
guage is  nothing  but  fact,  incontrovertible,  successfully.     Let 
some  who  are  in  the  habit  of  saying,  "  I  cannot,"  use  the 
word,    "  I  will  try;"  make  the   effort,   and  I  assure  you  that 
you  will  succeed  in  all  laudable  endeavors.     I  once  learned 
of  a  certain  lady  who  hired  a  cook  who  was  smart,    and  she 
would  always  got  her  work  done,   and  had  time  to  sit,  walk 
out  or  sew  in  the  afternoon.     At  length  she  left  her  place, 
and  the  lady  had  to  employ  another,  who  was  not  so   smart, 
and   as,  is  usually  the  custom,  the  lady  said  to  the  servant, 
' '  How  is  it  you  are  always  at  work  and  never  have  any  time  ? 
Why,  Biddy   always   was   done  and  out  walking,  or  sitting 
sewing,  or  resting  herself."     The  girl  was  anxious  to  know 
how  she  could  do  it.     "  Oh,  said  the  lady,    "perseverance." 
The  next  day  the  family  had  apple-dumplings  for   dinner  ; 
there  were  eight  left ;    the  girl  sat  down  to  her  dinner,    and 
ate  them  all.     Towards  evening,  the  lady,  feeling  as  though 
she  would  like  to  have   an  apple  dumpling,   said  to  Biddy, 
"  Please  give  me  one  of  the  apple   dumplings   that  was  left 
from  dinner?'7     "  Oh, "says  she,  "I  ate  them."     "  Why,"  said 
the  lady,  "  did  you  eat  all  of  them  ?"     "Yes,  madam,"  said 
Biddy .     "  How  did  you  manage  to  eat  them  all  ?"     ' '  Oh, "  said 
Biddy,  "perseverance,  madam,  perseverance.    Is  not  that  the 
way  you  told  me  ?    The  girl  done  the  work  and  rested  or  sewed 
or  walked  out  in  the  afternoon.     I  ate  the  dumplings — only 
eight — and  I  have  rested  since  then,  and  I  think,  if  I  continue 
persevering,  I  will  just  do  like  the  other  girl  did,  after  awhile," 
It  is    generally    the  case  in   whatever   we   undertake  ;  if  we 
strive  to  we  can  do  it  by  perseverance.     Allow  me  to  say  to 
you,  reader,  let  your  motto  be,  "Press  on."     If  misfortune 
assail,  press  on  ;  the  rougher  the  way  the  shorter — press  on. 
If  the  sky  is  cloudy,   it  will  be  clear  some  time — press   on. 
If  you   cannot  get   far,  go  on  as   far  as  you  can,    thinking 
"  man's  extremity  is  God's  opportunity."     He  will  make  use 


(     42    ) 

•% 

of  it,  and  bring  you  out  in  a  way  that  you  are  not  aware  of, 
and,   as  the  poet  says,  when  viewing  his  forlorn   situation, 

"  Ten  thousand  foes  around  my  feet, 

Not  one  shall  hold  me  fast; 

Through  every  trouble  I  shall  meet 

I  shall  be  safe  at  last." 

Take  the  watchword  and  go^on.  I  am  telling  you  to  do 
what  you  have  already  learned  that  I  have  done.  I  have 
have  been  without  money,  and  I  have  been  cast  out  in  a 
strange  land  amongst  strangers,  without  means.  I  kept  on  ; 
I  strove  to  keep  my  head  above  the  current.  I  did  so.  I 
have  clone  all  in  my  power  to  get  an  honest  living.  I 
have  been  as  charitable  as  it  has  been  in  my  power.  Doing 
all  the  good  that  I  could,  and  the  Lord  has  blessed  my 
efforts,  and  I  am  still  living,  and  although  I  have  been 
near  the  water's  edge,  the  water  has  never  overflowed 
me ;  and  I  am  still  floating  on  the  current  with  my  head 
above  water.  I  hope,  my  reader,  that  you  will  take  fresh 
courage,  and  press  on.  as  the  day  will  soon  break.  We  live 
in  an  age  of  progress — in  the  same  age  we  were  created.  In 
the  way  the  world  was  created,  progress  was  the  order  of 
the  creation.  I  am  convinced  of  the  fact,  and  I  am  led  to 
believe  that  many  of  my  readers  are  convinced  of  the  same 
thing.  How  thankful  I  am  that  I  am  no  worse  off  than  I 
am;  although  I  have  been  very  ungrateful  to  my  heavenly 
Father,  yet  he  has  favored  me,  and  had  I  been  dealt  with 
according  to  my  just  deserts  I  should  be  this  day  crying  for 
water  to  cool  my  tongue.  I  think  all  with  me  will  say  the 
the  same,  if  they  look  back  upon  their  past  lives.  We  may 
not  be  what  we  should  be,  but  having  such  a  kind  benefactor 
we  always  receive  more  than  we  are  worthy  to  receive.  I 
always  have  to  acknowledge  this  to  be  the  manner  that  I  am 
treated  by  my  heavenly  Creator.  My  dear  readers,  I  feel 
that  all  of  my  new  imperfections  will  be  overlooked  by  your 
kindness,  more  especially  when  you  think  of  the  chances  that 
I  have  been  deprived  of  by  my  once-called  master.  The 
time  I  should  have  been  attending  school  I  had  to  be  dodg- 
ing and  running  to  keep  out  of  the  way  from  him,'  and  sleep 
like  a  cat,  as  I  before  told  you,  with  one  eye  open  and  the 
other  eye  not  shut,  and  be  ever  ready  to  run  or  walk  further 


(    43    ) 

than  he  or   his  party,   or   be   captured.     I  have  told  you  of 
many  narrow   chances  of  escape,    and   if  you  had  seen   me 
some  of  the  times  you  would  certainly  have  said  that  he  is 
gone  this  time,  for  they  certainly  thought  they  had  me,  and  I 
thought  so  to.     But  out  of  all  the  snares  the  Lord  brought 
me,  and  bringing  me  at  all  times  in  a  way  that  I  knew  not  of; 
and  I  am  glad  such  has  been  my  case.     Had  I  been  left  to 
my  own  free  will,  I  would  perhaps  have  been  done  for  long 
ago,  and  been  in  abject,  or  worse  than  abject  slavery  again. 
Let  us,    the  colored  people,  begin — we  that   never  have  be- 
gun— now   commence  to  live,  that  the  world   may  be  made 
better  by  us.     In  the  course  of  seven  or  more  years  we  have 
had  a  great  deal  done.      Consider  our  case,  dear  reader,  and 
just  think  of  our  situation,   being  that  of  American  slavery 
for  over  two  hundred  years.     Had  the  Anglo-Saxon  race  been 
held  in  bondage  the 'same  length  of  time,  underwent  the  same 
hardships,  the  same  privations,  been  deprived  of  their  privi- 
leges, knocked  and  cuffed  about,  husbands  and  wives  separat- 
ed, and  children  and  parents,  which  will  take  almost  the  same 
length  of  time  to  bring  them  together  again — nay,  may  I  say, 
they  never  can  be  brought  together  again.     There  are  child, 
ren  of  one  parent  who  never  more  will  know  each  other,  per- 
haps working  in  the  same  field  together,  yet  they  were  sepa- 
rated when  they  were  so  young  they  could  never  know  or  re- 
member each  other.     Think  of  it;  the  Anglo-Saxon  race,  had 
they  been  under  the  same  yoke,  would  they  this  day  be  any 
better   than  we   are  ?     Would  they  be    any   more  intelligent 
than  we  ?     Would   they    be   any  more  civilized,  any  more 
Christianized  than  we   are?     lam   aware  that   we  are  in  the 
woods.     I  am  aware  that  we  are  in  the  wilderness  !     But,  ah  ! 
whose  fault  is  it  ?     Is  it  because  we  could  not  learn  ?    Is  it 
because  we  had  the  opportunity  and  would  not  learn  ?     Is  it 
because  we  idled  our  time  away,  and  would  not  work  ?     Nay, 
we  were  beat.     Some   of  our  people   have  been  whipped  to 
death,  some  have  been  tortured  in  other  ways.    We  have  done 
nothing  worthy  of  such  treatment.      We   have  always  acted 
better  than  we  have   been  treated.     We   have   always  acted 
better  than  the  Anglo-Saxon  would  have  acted  ;  yet  we  need 
not  tell  them.     They  know  ;  here  and  there  one  of  them  will 
confess.     All  of   our  bad   deeds  we   have  learned  from  him. 
Tell  me  of   one  thing   done  by  a  colored  man  that  the  same 


(    44    ) 

has  not  been  done  by  a  white  man  !  I  know  of  not  even  one, 
from  the  least  to  the  greatest  crime  on  record.  If  I  could 
only  think  of  a  crime  that  my  race  have  been  guilty  of  doing 
that  the  Anglo-Saxon  had  not  done,  [  would  mention  it.  But 
memory  fails  to  remember.  I  conclude  thus,  that  nothing 
that  ever  the  colored  man  ever  did,  good  or  bad,  but  the 
white  man  has  done  before  him.  I  mean  since  the  colored 
man  was  first  brought  to  this  country  by  him,  the  white  man, 
and  used  in  the  manner  he  has  been  by  him.  And  then  he, 
the  white  man,  having  the  daring  impudence  to  say  that  we 
have  done  your  race  good.  It  is  now  evident  that  the  two 
races  cannot  live  together.  This  is  a  white  man's  government. 
A  "  colored  man  has  no  rights  that  a  white  man  is  bound  to 
respect."  Father,  forgive  them,  for  they  are  not  aware  of 
what  they  are  saying.  I  mean,  they  are  not  aware  of  the  ex- 
tent or  import  of  what  other  people  infer  from  what  they  say. 
On  or  about  the  year  A.  D.  1838,  I  gave  Mr.  William  Hol- 
lingsworth  leg-bail  for  security,  and  in  the  year  1869  I 
went  to  redeem  my  bail.  I  found  the  slave-mart  done  away 
with  ;  I  also  found  the  jail,  called  by  and  after  the  fiend  in 
human  shape  at  that  time,  Woodforks.  What  shape  he  is  in 
now  I  cannot  tell,  and  am  not  anxious  to  know.  But  I  find 
that  there  is  a  fine  dwelling  erected  on  the  site  of  the  old 
prison,  and  the  old  whipping-post  rotted  down — grass  all 
growing  in  the  place.  What  an  alteration  has  taken  place 
since  I  used  to  visit  the  old  place.  I  am  very  fond  of  going 
there,  looking  at  the  scenery  of  the  place.  It  does  me  good. 
None  but  a  wonder-working  God  could  have  accomplished 
all  this  in  the  manner  that  this  was  done.  Well  may  it  be 
said  that  this  is  an  age  of  wonders.  Well  may  it  be  said 
that  the  world  is  changing,  and  we  are  changing  with  it,  and 
I  hope  that  it  will  keep  on  undergoing  a  change  until  it  is 
made  what  the  Creator  will  have  it.  It  will  then  be  right, 
for  whatever  He  doeth  is  right,  and  whenever  He  doeth  it  is 
the  time  it  should  be  done.  Thus  he  has  commenced.  All 
that  is  essential  for  us  to  do,  is  to  stand  still  and  see  the  sal- 
vation of  God.  I  do  not  mean  by  saying  stand  still,  to  do 
nothing.  That  is  not  my  meaning.  I  mean  to  do  and  try  to 
act  right  ;  live  godly  in  Christ  Jesus.  Suner  persecution  ; 
fight  the  good  fight — I  mean  for  you  to  lay  hold  on  eternal 
life — that  is  what  I  mean  by  standing  still.  And  when  you 


are  standing  still  and  running  at  the  same  time,  you  are  run- 
ning so  as  to  obtain — you  are  walking  and  not  fainting.  I 
counsel  strong  on  this  point.  I  mean  for  you  to  own  your 
name  in  the  gathering  morning,  when  burning  worlds  shall 
dash  together ;  when  the  scattered  elements  shall  be  col- 
lected ;  that  is  the  time  1  mean.  I  have  thought  that  at  this 
time  it  would  be  a  very  proper  time  to  quote  the  mission  of 
the  flowers,  penned  by  Mrs.  F.  A.  Harper  : 

"  In  a  lovely  garden,  filled  with  fair  and  blooming  flowers, 
stood  a  beautiful  rose-bush  or  tree  ;  it  was  the  centre  of  at- 
traction, and  won  the  admiration  of  every  eye.  Its  beau- 
teous flowers  were  sought  to  adorn  the  bridal  wreath  and  deck 
the  funeral  bier.  It  was  a  thing  of  joy,  and  its  earth-mission 
was  a  blessing.  Kind  hands  plucked^its  flowers  to  gladden 
the  chamber  of  sickness,  and  to  adorn  the  prisoner's  cell. 
Young  girls  wore  it  amidst  their  clustering  curls,  and  grave 
brows  relaxed  when  they  gazed  upon  their  wondrous  beauty. 
Now,  the  rose  was  very  kind  and  generous-hearted,  and  see- 
ing how  much  joy  she  dispensed,  wished  that  every  flower 
could  only  be  a  rose,  and  like  herself  have  the  privilege  of 
giving  joy  to  the  children  of  men;  while  she  thus  mused,  a 
bright  and  lovely  spirit  approached  her,  and  said,  '  I  know 
thy  wishes  and  will  grant  thy  desires.  Thou  shalt  have  pow- 
er to  change  every  flower  in  the  garden  to  thine  own  likeness. 
When  the  soft  winds  come  wooing  thy  fairest  buds  and  flow- 
ers, thou  shalt  breathe  gently  on  thy  sister  plants,  and  be- 
neath thy  influence  they  shall  change  to  beautiful  roses. '  The 
rose-tree  bowed  her  head  in  silent  gratitude  to  the  gentle 
being  who  had  granted  her  this  wondrous  power.  All  night 
the  stars  bent  over  ber,  from  their  holy  homes,  but  she 
scarcely  heeded  their  vigils.  The  gentle  dews  nestled  in  her 
arms,  and  kissed  the  cheeks  of  her  daughters,  but  she  hardly 
noticed  them.  She  was  waiting  for  the  soft  airs  to  awaken 
and  seek  her  charming  abode.  At  length  the  gentle  airs 
greeted  her,  and  she  hailed  them  with  a  joyous  welcome,  and 
then  commenced  the  work  of  change .  The  first  obj  ect  which  met 
her  vision  was  a  tulip,  superbly  arrayed  in  scarlet  and  gold. 
When  she  was  aware  of  the  intention  of  her  neighbor,  her 
cheeks  flamed,  her*  eyes  flashed  indignantly,  and  she  haugh- 
tily refused  to  change  her  proud  robes  for  the  garb  the  rose- 
tree  had  prepared  for  her,  but  she  could  not  resist  the  spell 


46    ) 

that  was  upon  her,  and  she  passively  permitted  the  garments 
of  the  rose  to  enfold  her  yielding  limbs.     The  verbenas  saw 
the  change  that  had  fallen  upon  the  tulip,  and,  dreading  that 
a   similar  fate  awaited    them,  crept  closely  to  the   ground, 
and  while  tears   gathered   in  their  eyes,  they  felt  a  change 
pass  through  their   sensitive  frames,  and  instead  of  gentle 
verbenas  they  were  blushing  roses.     She  breathed  upon  the 
sleeping  poppies  and  a  deeper  slumber  fell  upon  their  senses, 
and  when  they  awoke,  they,  too, -had  changed  to  bright  and 
beautiful  roses.     The  heliotrope  read  her  fate  in  the  lot  of 
her  sisters,  and,  bowing  her  fair  head  in  silent  sorrow,  grace- 
fully  submitted   to   her  unwelcome   destiny.      The   violets 
whose  mission  was  to  herald  the  approach  of  spring,  were 
averse  to  losing  their  identity.      '  Surely, '  said  they.  '  we  have 
a  mission  as  well  as  the  rose ;'  but  with  heavy  hearts  they  saw 
themselves  changed  like  their  sister  plants.     The  snowdrop 
drew  around  her  her  robes  of  virgin  white;  she  would  not 
willingly  exchange  them  for   the  most  brilliant  attire  that 
ever  decked  a  flower's  form.     To  her  they  were  the  emblems 
of  purity   and   innocence,   but  the  rose-tree  breathed  upon 
her,  and,  with  a  bitter  sob,  she  reluctantly  consented  to  the 
change.     The  dahlias  lifted  their  heads  proudly  and  defiantly; 
they  dreaded   the  change,  but   scorned  submission.     They 
loved  the  fading  year,  and  wished  to  spread  around  his  dying 
couch    their    brightest,    fairest    flowers;     but   vainly   they 
struggled;  the  doom  was  upon  them,  and  they  could  not  es- 
cape,    A  modest  lily  that  grew  near  the  rose,  shrank  instinc- 
tively from  her,  but  it  was  in  vain,  and  with  tearful  eyes  and 
trembling  limbs  she  yielded,  while  a  quiver  of  agony  con- 
vulsed her  frame.     The  marigolds  sighed  submissively,  and 
made  no  remonstrance.     The  garden  pinks  grew  careless,  and 
submitted  without  a  murmur,    while  other  flowers,  less  fra- 
grant or  less  fair,  paled  with  sorrow  or  reddened  with  anger. 
But  the  spell  of  the  rose-tree   was  upon   them,    and   every 
flower  was  changed  by  her  power,  and  that  once   beautiful 
garden  was  overrun  with  roses.     The  garden  had  changed, 
but  that  variety  which  had  lent  it  so  much  beauty  was  gone, 
and  men  grew  tired  of  the  roses,  for  they  were  everywhere. 
The  smallest  violet  peeping  faintly  from  its  bed  would  have 
been   welcome.     The  humblest  primrose  would  have  been 
hailed  with  delight.     Even  a  dandelion  would  have  been  a 


(    47    ) 

harbinger  of  joy.  When  the  rose-tree  saw  that  the  children 
of  men  were  dissatisfied  with  the  change  she  had  made,  her 
heart  grew  sad  within  her,  and  she  wished  the  power  had 
never  been  given  her  to  change  her  sister  plants  to  roses. 
And  tears  came  into  her  eyes  as  she  mused,  when  suddenly  a 
rough  wind  shook  her  drooping  form,  and  she  opened  her 
eyes,  and  found  that  she  had  only  been  dreaming.  But  an 
important  lesson  had  been  taught.  She  had  learned  to  re- 
spect the  individuality  of  her  sister  flowers,  and  she  began 
to  see  that  they  as  well  as  herself  had  their  own  missions. 
Some  to  gladden"  the  eye  with  their  loveliness  and  thrill 
the  soul  with  delight;  some  to  transmit  fragrance  to  the  air; 
others  to  breathe  a  refining  influence  upon  the  world;  some 
had  power  to  lull  the  aching  brow  and  soothe  the  weary 
heart  and  brain  into  f orgetf ulness ;  and  of  those  whose  mis- 
sion she  did  not  understand,  she  wisely  concluded  there  must 
be  some  object  in  their  creation,  and  resolved  to  be  true  to 
her  own  earth-mission,  and  lay  her  fairest  buds  and  flowers 
upon  the  altars  of  love  and  truth." 

In  conclusion,  I  have  crossed  the  ocean  some  four  times. 
Going  to  California  and  returning  by  the  Chagres  river,  the 
scenery  is  very  beautiful,  and  pays  the  traveler  ibr  his  trou- 
ble and  expense.  In  coming  back,  in  1869,  I  came  across 
the  plains  on  the  railroad,  which  is  a  splendid  road .  A 
grand  scone  to  witness:  having  an  opportunity  of  seeing  wild 
beasts  and  the  wonderful  characteristics  of  human  nature . 


SACRAMENTO, 

In  1869  I  was  in  Washington,  and  present  when  Senator 
Kevels  was  sworn  in  as  a  United  States  Senator.  In  1870  I 
was  in  Philadelphia,  and  walked  in  the  first  procession  of  the 
celebration  of  the  passage  of  the  Fifteenth  Amendment.  On 
March  31st,  three  days  after,  about  seven  o'clock  in  the  even- 
ing, I  was  walking  up  Second  street,  near  Market.  As  I 
was  crossing  the  street,  I  was  attacked  by  three  white  row- 
dies. One  said,  "Get  out  of  the  way,  you  damned  black 
Fifteenth  Amendment,"  and  at  the  same  time  striking  at  me 
and  missing  me,  when  I  ran  into  a  store,  and  the  store-keeper 
asked  me  what  was  the  matter,  and  I  said,  "A  lot  of  rowdies 
are  after  me  ;"  and  he  told  me  to  go  out.  I  said,  "No;  there 
is  rowdies  after  me;"  and  he  said,  "  Go  out,  go  out.  I  don't 
care  a  damn.  I  am  not  going  to  have  them  break  up  the 
things  in  my  store."  And  with  that  he  shoved  me  out,  and 
as  he  shoved  me  out,  one  of  them  struck  me  with  a  slung- 
shot,  near  the  corner  of  the  eye.  I,  having  a  hickory  cane  in 
my  hand,  at  the  same  time  struck  one  of  the  parties  and  felled 
him  to  the  ground.  Then  I  broke  and  ran  and  cried,  "  Watch, 
watch!"  I  met  a  policeman  and  told  him  there  was  a  lot  of 
rowdies  after  me,  and  asked  him  to  go  with  me  and  arrest 
them.  We  went  back  and  found  the  man  that  I  struck,  up  a 
little  alley,  bleeding.  The  officer  asked  him  what  was  the 
matter,  and  he  said  that  he  did  not  know.  The  officer  asked 
him  who  struck  him,  and  he  answered,  "I  don't  know."  I 
spoke  up  that  I  struck  him — "  that  is  who  struck  you," 
Says  the  officer,  ' '  What  did  this  colored  man  strike  you  for  ?" 
He  said,  "I  don't  know,  sir."  One  of  his  companions  was 
standing  by,  and  he  stepped  up  to  me  and  said,  "Who  struck 
you?"  I  said,  "You  did,  with  that  slung-shot  you  have  in 
your  pocket."  He  said,  "  No,  sir;  I  did  not  do  any  such  a 
thing."  I  said,  "Yes,  you  did."  A  very  respectable  mer- 
chant stepped  up  and  said,  "Officer,  I  was  in  the  act  of 


(    49    ) 

crossing  the  street  and  saw  the  whole  affray.     This  colored 
man  was  coming  along  peaceably  and  these  fellows  attacked 
him.     I  halted  on  the  corner  and  saw  this  fellow  strike  him, 
and  then  he  ran  around  the  corner  and  comes  back  and  asks 
who  struck  him."     I  said  to  the  officer,  "Arrest  them  and 
take  them  to  the  watch-house."     The  officer  stepped  up  to  me 
softly  and  said,  "Step  here;  I  want  to  speak  to  you  a  minute. 
You  gave  him  just  as  good  as  they  sent,  and  you  have  hurt 
him  more  than   they  have  hurt  you,  and  I  would  not  have 
them  arrested,  for  it  might  cost  you  something,  and  I  wouldn't 
like  to  see  you  pay  anything  out,  for   I  know  they  were  in 
fault."     This  the  officer  done,  pulling  the  wool  over  my  eyes, 
I  not  knowing,  at  the  time,  what  it  was  done  for.     When  I 
came  to  find  out,  to  my  great  surprise,  they  were  all  Sece?h 
Democrats,    well  met   fellows   together      Therefore,  reader, 
you  can  see  the  result  of  appointing  such  men  as  peace  offi- 
cers.    In  a  few  days  afterwards  I  went  to  New  York  o"h  some 
business.     Whilst  walking  up  Battery  street,  I  saw  an  office 
and  a  sign  of  broking  and  shipping,  with  a  great  deal  of  gold 
and  silver  in  the  window.  I  went  in  and  asked,  saying,  "  Mister, 
will  you  be  kind  enough  to  tell  me  where  to  go  to  buy  a  tick- 
et for  California?"     He  answered,  "I  will  sell  you  a  ticket 
for  California."     I  asked,   "Is  this  the  regular  ticket-office 
for  California?"     He  said,  "Yes."     He  asked  if  I  belonged 
in  California.  I  said  "  Yes."     He  said,  "I  thought  you  was 
a  stranger."     At  that  time  I  had  on  a  gold  watch  and  chain. 
He  stepped  up  to  me,  taking  hold  of  the  chain,  saying,  "What 
a  pretty  chain!     Where  did  you  get  it?"     I  answered,  "In 
California  '•     He  said  that  he  would  like  to  buy  the  chain. 
I  told  him  that  I  would  not  sell  the  chain  without  the  watch. 
He  asked  to  see  the  watch.     I  let  him  see  it,  and  he  said,  "I 
will  buy  them  both.     What  will  you  take  for  them?"    As  I 
was  always  ready  for  a  trade,  I  thought  that  I  had  struck  a 
green  hand,  and  thinking  that  I  had  a  chance  to  make  my 
passage  clear,  I  put  a  price  on  of  forty  dollars  more  than  the 
watch  or  chain  cost  me.     He  answered,    "All  right.     That 
is  cheap  enough."     And  he  wanted  to  take  it  out  to  see  if  it 
was  gold,  and  if  so  he  would  buy  it.     He  turned  back  and  said, 
"Show  me  how  to  take  off  the  chain;  I  want  to  weigh  it,  to  see 
how  much  it  weighs."     I  took  the  chain  off  and  handed  it  to 
him.     He  said,  "Give  me  the  watch,  too."     I  gave  it  to  him. 
6 


(     50     ) 

At  the  same  time  his  partner  called  my  attention,  saying,  "  If 
we  buy  your  watch  you  will  buy  a  ticket  of  us,"  showing  me 
the  picture  of  a  ship,  and  remarking,  ' '  What  a  pretty  built 
ship!"  It  was  while  I  was  speaking  to  him,  his  partner  put 
a  bogus  watch  on  the  chain,  handing  it  to  me,  saying,  "Your 
watch  is  only  worth  twenty  shillings,  but  I  will  give  you 
twenty -five  dollars  for  the  chain."  1  asked  him  if  he  thought 
that  I  stole  the  watch  ?  And  as  I  went  to  put  it  in  my  pocket 
I  noticed  it  was  not  my  watch.  I  said,  "  Will  you  please, 
sir,  to  give  me  my  watch;  this  is  not  my  watch."  He  said, 
"That  is  your  watch."  I  said,  "It  is  not,  sir."  He  said, 
"You  had  better  say  that  I  stole  your  watch."  I  said,  "I 
don't  say  that,  but  this  is  not  my  watch.''  He  said,  "  If  you 
say  that  I  stole  it  I  will  break  your  head."  I  went  to  some 
white  gentlemen  who  knew  my  watch.  They  said,  "This  is 
the  same  chain,  but  this  is  not  the  watch  that  I  have  seen. 
You  come  with  me,  and  we  will  get  a  detective  after  him." 
We  did  so,  and  had  him  arrested.  By  the  time  I  got  to  the 
office  he  had  about  twenty  men  that  I  had  never  seen,  to 
swear  that  the  watch  that  he  gave  me  was  the  same  one  that 
I  showed  him.  I  supposed  them  to  be  his  associates,  as 
they  fell  in,  one  by  one,  as  we  went  to  the  office.  There 
was  so  much  whispering  between  the  officers  and  the  Judge 
to  the  prisoner,  that  I  came  to  the  conclusion  that  they 
were  all  looking  through  one  telescope.  The  Judge  said, 
"Mr.  Williams,  I  will  prosecute  them,  I  will  put  them 
through,  if  you  say  so."  Eight  before  the  prisoner  I  said, 
"No,  sir;  I  see  enough.  If  I  fool  here  I  will  have  no  money 
to  get  home  with ."  Out  I  walked,  and  the  officer  followed 
me  out,  saying,  "Mr.  Williams,  I  have  arrested  this  man, 
and  I  want  you  to  prosecute  him."  I  said,  "No,  sir;  do  you 
suppose  I  am  fool  enough  to  swear  against  all  of  those  men 
to  have  them  outswear  me,  and  no  one  to  corroborate  my 
statement,  and  bring  me  in  for  the  costs?"  And  away  I  went 
to  my  boarding-house,  taking  my  carpet-sack,  and  started 
for  Philadelphia.  When  I  got  down  to  Fulton  Market  I 
met  a  very  nice  gentleman,  looking  like  a  rich  merchant, 
and  he  said,  "How  do  you  do,  sir?  Can  you  tell  me 
what  time  the  boat  starts?"  I  said,  "I  don't  know,  sir; 
I  think  about  four  o'clock,  by  what  I  have  understood." 
He  asked  me  which  way  I  was  going,  East  or  W^est? 


(     51     ) 

I  said,  "I  am  going  to  Philadelphia."  He  said,  " There 
is  just  yhere  I  am  going.  We  have  plenty  of  time.  We 
have  a  half  of  an  hour  yet.  Come  and  take  a  drink!" 
"Thank  you,  sir;  I  don't  drink."  At  the  same  time  a  man 
came  up  behind  me,  and  struck  me  on  the  back  of  the  leg, 
and  the  man  I  was  speaking  to  said,  ''There,  that  man  has 
got  your  pocket-book."  I  said,  "  It  is  not  mine."  He  said* 
"  Just  say  so,  and  we  will  make  some  money  out  of  it." 
Eeader,  I  had  heard  of  the  drop-game.  As  I  had  just  been 
fooled,  I  came  to  the  conclusion  to  see  it  out.  This  nice 
gentleman  that  looked  like  a  merchant,  called  out,  "  Say, 
sir,  you  have  got  this  man's  pocket-book.  I  saw  you  when 
you  picked  it  up."  The  man  said,  "  I  found  it  down  there, 
and  if  I  give  it  up  he  will  not  give  me  anything  for  finding 
it."  Then  this  nice  gentleman  said,  "How  much  dg  you 
want  for  finding  it."  He  answered,  "Twenty  dollars,"  and 
pretended  to  be  acrying.  This  gentleman,  taking  out  a 
greenback,  saying  tome,  "Have  you  got  any  gold?  Give 
him  a  ten-dollar  gold  piece."  I  put  my  finger  to  my  eye, 
and  asked,  "Do  you  see  anything  green?"  And  away  I  went 
aboard  of  the  boat  for  Philadelphia.  June  3d,  1870,  I  left 
Philadelphia,  the  fourth  time,  for  California,  and  landed  in 
Sacramento  on  the  eleventh  of  the  next  month,  and  went  to 
my  legitimate  business,  whitewashing.  I  worked  at  that 
three  or  four  weeks,  when  I  was  employed  by  the  trustees  of 
the  Siloam  Baptist  Church,  as  an  agent,  to  collect  money  to 
pay  off  the  indebtedness  of  that  church.  As  a  general  thing, 
amongst  the  people  of  color  in  their  churches,  you  can  never 
do  enough  for  them,  or  satisfy  them;  so,  after  collecting 
some  seven  or  eight  months,  I  resigned  my  office  as  a  col- 
lector. 

Not  unto  us,  Lord,  not  unto  us, 
But  unto  thy  Name  give  glory, 

For  Thy  mercy  and  for  Thy  truth. 

I  love  the  Lord,  because  he  heard  my  voice. 

After  I  resigned  my  office  as  a  collector,  I  opened  a  store 
on  J  street,  between  9th  and  10th,  for  groceries,  fruit  and 
poultry.  This  was  in  1871.  Eeader,  observe  closely  as  you 
read.  A  colored  lady  that  I  had  been  acquainted  with  in 
the  Eastern  States  wanted  me  to  assist  her  to  come  to  Cal- 
ifornia, and  I  did  so.  After  she  arrived  in  California,  she 


(    52    )1 

asked  me  to  loan  her  money,  to  assist  her  to  bring  her  mother 
out,  and  I  did  so.  After  her  mother  arrived  here,  sh«  asked 
me  to  lend  her  some  money  to  furnish  a  house,  and  I  also 
did  that.  She  asked  me  to  go  to  Mr.  Wingate,  and  stand  se- 
curity for  her  house-rent.  I  did  that.  When  the  rent  was  due, 
she  did  not  have  the  money.  Mr.  Wingate  called  at  my  store, 
and  I  paid  it.  Whilst  I  remained  her  security,  whenever  he 
called  I  paid  the  bill.  Whenever  she  wanted  groceries,  she 
came  to  my  store,  money  or  no  money,  and  she  got  whatever 
she  wanted.  This  lady  and  myself  were  the  best  of  friends. 
I  was  in  the  habit  of  going  to  her  house  two  or  three  times 
daily.  She  would  go  with  me  anywhere  and  everywhere, 
when  I  requested  her,  and  would  do  anything  for  me  that 
laid  in  her  power. 

I  was  there  at  her  house  one  afternoon  in  February,  1872, 
and  leaving  at  five  o'clock  to  go  home,  she  followed  me  to 
the  door,  and  remarked,  that  she  felt  unwell,  and  would  like 
some  lager  beer,  and  I  called  a  young  man  that  was  present 
at  the  house,  and  asked  him  if  he  would  go,  and  get  some 
beer  for  Lizey.  I  gave  her  ten  cents,  and  she  and  Alfred 
Linchcomb  went  in  the  house,  bidding  me  good  afternoon, 
as  I  supposed,  to  get  the  pitcher  for  the  beer.  I  come  down 
K  street  to  9th  street;  my  attention  was  drawn  by  two  white 
gentlemen  talking  politics.  After  standing  there  awhile,  the 
bell  rang  for  six  o'clock.  I  went  to  the  Golden  Eagle  bar- 
ber shop,  and  called  Mr.  Christopher,  saying,  "  Are  you 
going  home  to  supper  ?  "  And  we  both  went  down  Sixth 
street  together.  It  was  raining  at  that  time.  I  raised  my  um- 
brella, and  we  went  together  as  far  as  O  street.  I  went  to  my 
house,  and  he  went  home.  After  arriving  at  home  I  ate  my 
supper,  and  a  lady  came  in  about  seven  o'clock,  and  we  had 
a  little  fun.  Afterwards  I  laid  down  on  the  lounge,  and  went 
to  sleep,  to  the  best  of  my  knowledge.  The  lady  of  the 
house  called  me,  about  ten  o'clock,  to  get  up  from  the  lounge 
and  go  to  bed .  This  was  a  dark,  rainy,  stormy  night.  The 
lady  of  the  house  was  sewing,  and  the  house  shook  so  by  the 
wind  that  she  had  not  gone  to  bed  yet,  being  troubled  with 
the  cramp.  About  one  or  half -past  one  o'clock,  I  was  aroused 
,  by  her  saying  that  some  one  was  at  the  door,  asking  for  Wil- 
liams. I  told  her  to  ask  what  was  wanted.  The  man  said, 
"Tell  Mr.  Williams  that  Miss  Thompson's  house  is  burnt 


(     53     ) 

down."  I  asked,  "  What  Miss  Thompson?"  He  answered, 
"  Your  Miss  Thompson  on  8th  street."  1  said,  "  Where  is 
she  ?"  He  said  that  she  was  burnt,  too.  I  said,  "My  God, 
you  don't  say  so?  Come  in,  until  I  get  my  clothes  on." 
Then  we  went  to  Mr.  Slaughter's,  and  called  two  other  gen- 
tlemen, friends  of  Miss  Thompson,  to  go  with  us  to  the 
house.  Eeader,  take  notice  and  observe  closely  as  you  read. 
That  day  at  the  Coroner's  jury  there  were  several  examined, 
and  I  among  the  rest,  and  there  was  nothing  found  against 
me.  They  asked  me  who  was  at  the  house.  I  answered 
that  I  left  Alfred  Linchcomb  there.  "  Where  is  he  now  ?" 
No  one  had  seen  him  that  day  that  was  then  present.  An 
officer,  accompanied  by  some  colored  men,  went  to  find  him, 
and  when  they  brought  Linchcomb  in,  the  first  thing  that  I 
noticed  was  that  he  had  changed  his  pantaloons,  and  the 
second  thing  I  noticed  was  the  rings  on  his  fingers,  that 
looked  just  like  hers;  the  third  thing  I  noticed  was,  he  hung 
his  head  on  the  palm  of  his  hand,  and  could  not  hold  it  up; 
the  fourth  thing  I  noticed,  he  said  that  Fred  Washington  was 
with  him,  and  Fred  Washington  had  gone  to  San  Francisco, 
the  previous  day,  for  I  shook  hands  with  him,  just  as  he 
went  on  the  boat;  the  next  thing  I  noticed,  he  said  that  there 
was  a  gentleman  with  him  by  the  name  of  Smith,  and  the 
officers  brought  all  the  colored  men  they  could  find  in  the 
City,  by  the  name  of  Smith.  But  when  they  came,  none  ap- 
peared to  be  the  man  So  you  see  there  was  a  lie  some- 
where. My  humble  opinion  and  my  belief  is,  that  there  was 
no  one  with  him  but  the  devil.  The  officers,  seeing  his 
guilt,  arrested  him .  Then  his  colleagues  and  my  enemies  tried 
to  throw  it  on  me  to  clear  him,  more  especially  the  low  and 
degraded  class  of  colored  people,  standing  on  the  corners,, 
and  holding  caucuses,  trying  to  poison  the  minds  of  every 
well-known  respectable  white  citizen.  I  was  then  arrested, 
and  falsely  imprisoned,  slandered  falsely  by  the  newspapers 
throughout  the  State,  and  throughout  the  United  States,  and 
held  fourteen  days  in  jail  in  this  manner,  yet  being  innocent. 
I  was  not  alarmed,  for  I  trusted  in  God,  as  the  three  Hebrew 
children  did  in  the  fiery  furnace.  When  I  prayed  they  said 
that  I  was  hardening.  I  said  that  if  the  word  of  God  was 
hardening,  then  they  may  be  hardened  by  the  word  of  God. 


(     54     ) 

Then  well  may  I  say,  in  the  Garden  of  Eden 

There  was  beauty. 
In  the  garden  of  Eden  Beauty  woke 

And  spoke  to  Beauty. 
And  from  the  word  there  was  Beauty. 
In  the  garden  of  Eden,  Beauty  became 

A  living  mortal. 

When  it  came  to  trial  there  was  nothing  against  me,  and  I 
was  discharged,  and  could  not  receive  any  reward  as  damage 
for  false  imprisonment,  when  I  had  proved  that  I  was  home 
and  in  bed,  and  had  not  been  out  of  the  house  that  night. 
Reader,  is  that  a  just  law,  that  a  man  should  be  arrested  in 
that  manner  and  held  for  14  days  on  suspicion  ?  Away  with 
such  abominable  law  as  that.  I  hope  to  see  the  day  when 
some  good,  honest-hearted  man  will  be  'elected  to  the  Legis- 
lature, who  will  stand  up  and  use  all  of  his  force  and  en- 
deavor to  make  laws  that  no  innocent  man  shall  be  arrested 
and  held  over  twenty-four  hours  on  suspicion  ;  and  fur- 
thermore, he  should  not  be  published  in  the  papers  until 
he  is  known  to  be  guilty,  and  if  such  things  should  be  done, 
the  State  ancT  County  should  be  held  liable  for  heavy  dam- 
ages. In  February,  1872,  I  sold  out  my  store.  I  went  to 
work  at  the  Central  Pacific  E.  E.  shops,  whitewashing,  and  act- 
ing as  foreman  of  the  whitewashers.  In  August,  whilst  aq. 
my  employment,  I  was  arrested,  charged  with  a  crime  that  I 
knew  nothing  about — taken  the  second  time,  charged  with 
the  same  crime  that  I  was  not  guilty  of,  and  placed  in 
Chokee,  in  that  low,  dirty,  cold,  miserable  place,  where  you 
are  half  starved  and  don't  receive  good  attention  by  the 
keeper.  I  do  not  believe  that  they  give  you  what  rations 
the  law  allows  you.  I  caught  my  death-cold  there,  for  I  have 
not  had  a  well  day  since.  Though  I  look  healthy,  I  am  far 
from  it.  I  would  have  sued  the  State  and  County  for  dam- 
ages if  I  could,  but  the  authorities  fell  back  on  their  dig- 
nity, and  said  "  We  had  a  right  to  arrest  him  on  suspicion." 

Ah,  reader,  is  that  fair  to  hold  a  man  fourteen  days  011 
suspicion,  and,  when  proved  innocent,  he  to  receive  no  dam- 
ages for  it?  I  gave  officers  Geo.  Harvey,  Moore  and  Eider 
credit  for  their  respectful  treatment  of  me.  They  did  no 
more  than  their  duty.  They  did  not  hatch  up  lies  to  convict 
an  innocent  man,  as  many  others  do.  My  opinion  is  that 


(     55     ) 

the  poor  men  of  the  United  States  do  not  get  justice  at  law 
as  the  rich  man  does.  We  should  have  the  best  laws  in 
these  United  States  of  any  place  on  the  face  of  the  globe, 
but  we  are  far  from  it.  England  now  is  not  as  strong  as 
the  United  States,  and  her  laws  are  few,  but  more  powerful 
than  the  laws  of  the  United  States.  She  protects  her  sub- 
jects at  home  and  abroad,  more  especially  at  home.  Now, 
reader,  let  us  see  the  difference  between  the  United  States 
and  England,  relative  to  the  poorer  class  of  people.  There 
was  a  white  man  brought  from  Idaho,  supposed  to  be  Weeks, 
the  murderer,  on  suspicion.  They  kept  him  in  about  half  of 
the  time.  They  kept  Williams  in  Chokee.  After  he  was 
proven  not  to  be  the  man,  oh,  what  did  they  do  ?  I  noticed 
that  the  people  of  this  city  raised  him  some  four  or  five 
thousand  dollars,  and  gave  him  a  benefit  in  the  theatre. 
What  did  you  do  for  Williams,  the  poor  negro  ?  You  did 
not  even  honorably  acquit  him  through  your  papers.  When 
some  of  you  will  be  in  torment,  calling  for  water  to  cool 
your  parched  tongues,  I  expect  to  be  in  Abraham's  bosom. 
I  mean  those  who  are  my  accusers.  Then,  when  I  was  ar- 
raigned for  general  trial,  what  did  the  District  Attorney 
say  to  the  Judge  ?  "  Judge,  your  Honor,  I  have  no  case,  or  no 
evidence,  to  show  that  this  man  is  guilty.  You  have  heard  all 
the  evidence  in  this  case,  and  there  is  nothing  against  him. 
There  was  no  evidence  before  the  jury, "when  they  indicted  him. 
Only  the  darkies  made  such  a  fuss,  we  thought  that  we  had 
better  hold  him,  to  see  if  there  could  be  anything  found 
against  him."  So  the  District  Attorney  made  a  motion  to 
dismiss  the  case.  Now,  reader,  is  that  fair  ?  Where  are  my 
damages  for  being  falsely  imprisoned  ?  I  am  speaking  against 
office-holders  and  office-seekers.  All  that  I  can  receive  for 
damages  is  for  the  people  to  buy-  my  book.  I  am  wounded 
and  injured  for  life  in  my  reputation  ;  everybody  looks  down 
on  me  with  a  frowning,  treacherous  look,  throughout  the 
world,  far  and.  near,  wherever  I  am  known.  Is  it  fair  that 
a  man  should  be  browbeat  in  this  manner  without  any  cause  ? 
My  heart  is  clear,  my  hands  are  clear,  my  mind  is  clear,  my 
skirts  are  clear.  I  am  as  clear  as  the  glittering  sun  of  any 
blood-stains  to  my  skirts.  I  never  have  harmed  or  injured 
any  living  thing  on  the  face  of  the  earth,  not  even  to  the 
beasts.  I  have  always  been  kind  hearted,  benevolent  and 


(     56     ) 

good-natured  to  all  races,  colors  and  sexes,  without  any  preju- 
dice whatever.  Reader,  you  can  believe  this  or  let  it  alone. 
It  is  immaterial  to  me  whether  you  believe  it  or  not.  God 
is  my  sacred  Judge.  He  is  sufficient  for  all  things.  I  will 
ever  trust  in  Him.  If  He  is  for  me,  all  hell  may  be  against 
me,  and  cannot  shake  my  foundation.  "  Oh,"  says  one, 
' '  why  is  it  that  your  own  people  are  so  down  on  you,  or  what  did 
vou  do  that  they  so  dislike  you  ?"  I  will  tell  you :  "  I  am  a  little 
Southern  boy,  born  in  the  South,  and  never  had  any  train- 
ing at  school,  having  more  brains  than  some  of  the  Northern 
boys  have  education.  You  ask  the  colored  man  what  is  my 
reputation  ?  He  will  say,  "  He  is  a  bad  man."  "  Well,  what 
did  he  do  to  you  ?"  "  O,  nothing."  "  Well,  what  did  you 
know  him  to  do?"  "  O,  nothing  ;  but  they  say  he  is  a  bad 
man."  "  How  long  have  you  known  him?"  "  Ten  or  fifteen 
years  ;  but  they  say  he  is  a  bad  man — they  say  he  is  a  sharp- 
er." "What  kind  of  a  sharper — a  gambler?"  "No;  they 
say  he  is  sharp,  beats  you  in  trade,  and  he  fights."  "Is 
that  all  ?"  "Yes,  that  is  all."  "  Don't  he  work  ?"  "  Yes/' 
Eeader,  these  phrases  are  used  by  colored  men  that  call 
themselves  learned  men.  Where  do  you  find  them?  In  the 
whisky  mills,  the  most  intellectual  colored  men  we  have  in 
our  community — at  the  card-table  and  the  billiard  tables. 
1  That  is  the  class  of  men  that  have  been  browbeating  the  South- 
ern boy  ?  Are  they  a  criterion  to  be  ruled  by  or  governed  by. 
•"Yes;  they  say  yonr  Church  brothers  and  sisters  despise 
you.  What  did  you  do  to  them  ?''  Let  us  examine  our- 
selves closely,  and  see  what  we  have  done.  One  brother, 
Sheppard.  spoke  disorderly  in  the  board  meeting.  I,  doing 
my  duty  as  a  trustee,  made  a  charge  against  him,  and  hand- 
ed him  over  to  the  Quarterly  Conference,  and  he  was  set  back. 
Another  brother  I  spoke  to  about  his  breath  smelling  of 
whisky  in  time  of  service.  They  always  told  me  that  they 
\\ouldgeteven  with  me,  and  this  is  their  little  grievance. 
"But  they  say  he  is  a  bad  man;  he  robbed  the  church."  'Well, 
let  us  see  how  he  robbed  the  church.  They  appointed 
him  collector  and  agent  for  the  church.  They  allowed  me 
two  dollars  a  day,  and  traveling  expenses,  but  I  must  make 
the  money  myself.  I  done  so,  and  turned  in  about  three 
thousand  dollars  in  eight  months,  clear  of  all  my  expenses. 
This  is  what  they  call  robbing  the  church.  There  was  great 


(     57     ) 

confusion  amongst  the  trustees  all  the  time  I  was  collecting, 
thinking  that  I  was  making  an  easy  living.     There  was  one 
brother  amongst   them  that  could  shout  higher  than  I  could, 
and  was  fuller  of  the  Holy  Ghost  than  I  was,  or  he  pretended 
to  be,  and  was  very  anxious  for  the  office,  and  his  friends 
were  anxious  for  him  to  have  it.     After  settling  up  at  the 
trustees'  meeting,  and  they  saying  that  everything  was  satis- 
factory, they    said  that  they  would  like  to  have  the  books, 
for  they  could  send  out  a  man  that  could  turn  in  a  little  more 
money   than  I  could  in  that  time.     They  sent  out  one  Mr. 
Johnson.    He  went  to  San  Francisco.    I  am  told  that  he  col- 
lected three  or  four  hundred  dollars.     The  sight  of  the  money 
did  him  so  much  good,  that  he  went  to  keeping  restaurant, 
and  never  came  back.     As  far  as  I  understand  and  know,  he 
backslid  from  the  church.     When  he  used  to  be  giving  in  his 
experience   at  the  meeting,  he   used  to  say,    "My  name  is 
John  Johnson,  bound  for  heaven."    So,  reader,  you  see  these 
are   the   kind   of  men  that  rule  the  colored  church.      Ah, 
Williams  robbed  the  church  did  he  ?     Let  us  inquire  a  little 
further  into  it.     Who  did  they  send  out  next  ?     One  good 
old  M.  E.  preacher,  by  the  name  of  Elder  Hardy,  who  said 
that  he  would  not  deal  with  the  trustees,  •and  wanted  the 
privilege  of  turning  his  money  in  at  the  General  Conference 
at  the  end  of  the  year.     At  the  end  of  the  year,  he  turned  in- 
to Conference  fifty  dollars,  and  said  that  it  took  all  that  he 
could  collect  to  pay  his  board  and  traveling  expenses.     So 
Williams   is  a   bad   man  ;  they  say  he  robbed   the  church. 
What  do  you  think  of  this  story  ?     Header,  the  worst  enemies 
that  I  ever  had  in  my  life  were  men  and  women  that  belonged 
to    the   church.     The    A.    M.  Church   in  California  preach 
up  a  great  deal  of  religion,  but  practice  but  little.     You  may 
visit  the  class-room  of  the  A.  M.  Church,  and  you  will  find 
three  or  four  brothers  and  sisters  all  going  to  heaven,  and 
one  wont  speak  to  the  other,  though  they  turned  me  out  when 
I  was  not  present,  without  a  legal  notice,  and  they  never  have 
told  me    what  I   was  turned   out  for.     Is   that  Christianity  ? 
May  the  Lord  forgive  them,  for  they  know  not  what  they  are 
doing.     Let  not  our  hearts  be  troubled,  but  live  and  fear  the 
Lord,  and  trust  in   him  forever.     The  whole  world  may   be 
against  me,  but  yet  I  will  trust  in  the  Lord.     O,  let  us  seek 
him  with  all  our  hearts,  and  bv  his  power  we  will  be  borne  up. 


(    58    ) 

Reader,  they  say  Williams  is  a  bad  man.  Yes,  Linchcomb 
said  that  he  done  the  deed.  Why  did  he  say  so  ?  Because 
he  saw  that  there  was  no  alternative  to  save  himself.  Then 
his  friends  and  my  enemies,  after  seeing  that  he  was  convict, 
ed,  in  order  to  take  the  stain  off  of  his  mother  and  kindred, 
said  to  him,  "  You  just  say  that  it  is  Williams,  and  that  will 
keep  the  disgrace  from  us."  Or,  in  other  words,  if  public  in- 
fluence can  saddle  it  on  Williams,  we  perhaps  can  clear  you, 
or,  after  awhile,  get  you  pardoned  out.  Reader,  he  could 
not  come  out  until  after  he  was  convicted.  What  do  you 
think  of  that  for  an  innocent  man  ?  His  friends  tried  hard 
to  put  up  a  job  011  me.  They  produced  a  hat,  purporting  it 
to  be  mine  ;  but,  thank  God,  it  was  four  inches  too  small  for 
me,  and,  furthermore,  it  was  found  three  weeks  before  the 
circumstance  happened.  What  do  you  think  of  such  malice  ? 
And  they  even  went  so  far  as  to  try  to  persuade  the  lady 
with  whom  I  was  stopping  to  say  that  I  was  out  when  I  was 
in  ;  and  said  to  her,  if  he  had  been  stopping  with  you,  I 
would  say  he  was  out  anyhow.  But  she  would  not  lie  ;  and 
then  they  tried  to  make  her  run  away.  But  she  said,  "  What 
will  I  run  away  for  ?  I  have  done  nothing  wrong,  and  I 
know  nothing  wrong  of  anybody  else  for  me  to  run  away." 
And  they  furthermore  said  to  her,  "We  don't  care  who 
hangs  or  who  don't,  as  long  as  we  clear  Linchomb.  This 
was  done  by  colored  people.  In  my  humble  belief  they  are 
the  most  treacherous  people  in  the  city  of  Sacramento, 
State  of  California,  or  any  portion  of  the  world  I  ever  trav- 
eled. Ah,  my  colored  brother n  were  not  aware  of  the  joke 
we  practiced  on  Linchcomb  while  in  jail.  I  placed  two  offi- 
cers behind  his  cell,  went  to  the  door,  and  the  keeper  said: 
"Mr.  Linchomb,  Mr.  Williams  wants  to  see  you,"  and  he 
walked  off  and  left  me  as  he  thought,  the  same  time  I 
having  two  officers  placed  behind  the  door.  Says  I,  "Mr. 
Linchcomb,  why  don't  you  come  out  and  tell  the  people  that 
I  have  nothing  to  do  with  this,  and  not  keep  me  locked  up 
for  nothing."  And  says  he,  "I  will  say  nothing  that  will 
implicate  myself,  for  my  attorney  has  advised  me  what  to  do, 
and  told  me  not  to  talk  to  anyone.  And  he  looks  up  at  me, 
and  says  :  "  How  is  it  that  the  keeper  will  allow  you  to  come 
and  talk  by  yourself,  because  they  are  very  particular  to 
come  and  listen  when  anybody  else  conies  in."  Ah,  reader, 


(     59     ) 

if  I  was  so  guilty  as  he  stated  after  the  conviction,  why  did 
he  not  state  it  at  the  cell-door  when  we  were  alone,  or  sup- 
posed to  be. 

Well  may  it  be  noted  that  ''  a  drowning  man  will  catch 
st  a  straw  to  save  himself."  Reader,  you  have  heard  of  the 
cat  story  :  Once  upon  a  time  two  cats  stole  a  cheese.  After 
stealing  it,  they  did  not  know  how  to  divide  it ;  they  called 
in  a  monkey  to  divide  it.  He  making  himself  and  believing 
himself  to  be  the  judge,  opened  Court,  and  called  for  the 
scales,  and  breaking  the  cheese,  placed  each  part  in  the 
scales  ;  but  one  side  weighing  heavier  than  the  other,  he  bit 
off  a  piece,  and  he  said,  "The  other  side  is  little  the 
heavier,"  and  he  bit  a  piece  off  of  it  ;  and  so  he  kept  on 
biting.  At  last  the  cats  got  to  grumbling,  and  said,  "  Give 
each  of  us  our  share,  and  we  will  go  off  satisfied,"  and  says 
he,  "  No,  I  am  the  judge  of  the  Court  ;  my  friends  have  got 
to  be  provided  for,  the  costs  of  the  Court  have  to  be  paid, 
and  the  judge  has  to  have  his  salary."  And  then  he  rams 
the  other  end  in  his  mouth  and  dismisses  the  Court. 

''  Well,  writer,  what  do  you  mean  by  that  story  ?"  Eeader,  I 
will  show  you.  Read  slow,  and  observe  and  take  notice  of 
what  you  read.  Mrs.  Fair  committed  a  crime  wilfully,  and  all 
effort  was  made  to  clear  her  by  trial  after  trial,  until  she  was 
cleared.  Tip  McLaughlin  committed  a  crime  wilfully.  All 
effort  was  made  to  clear  him.  Juries  disagreed  and  disagreed 
until  he  was  brought  in  guilty.  I  am  not  an  enemy  of  these 
parties,  neither  do  I  have  any  ill-feeling  towards  them.  I 
only  draw  up  these  resolutions  to  illustrate  this  story,  to 
show  to  the  intelligent  portion  of  the  people  the  injustice  of 
the  law.  I  have  seen  more  law  in  California  than  any  other 
part  of  the  world  which  I  have  traveled  in,  but,  according  to 
my  belief,  little  justice.  "Can  you  prove  that?"  I  can  by 
relating  the  cat  story,  and  referring  to  the  Tip  McLaughlin 
case.  When  the  jury  brought  in  a  verdict  of  guilty,  says 
the  Court,  "  My  friends  and  the  Court  are  not  satisfied.  We 
will  walk  out  and  take  a  drink,  and  let  him  skedaddle."  How 
did  you  treat  poor  Williams,  the  darkey,  who  was  not  guilty 
of  any  crime.  We  kept  him  in  close  confinement,  guarded 
by  two  strong  officers,  and  the  bloodhounds  were  running 
far  and  near,  trying  to  implicate  him,  when  there  was  nothing 
against  him.  So  you  see  the  difference.  A  man  that  is  inno_ 


(     60    ) 

cent  they  try  to  convict,  and  one  that  is  guilty,  they  let  him 
walk  out  of  the  Court-house.  Kemember,  if  I  am  not  edu- 
cated, that  I  have  good  sound  mother-wit,  and  take  notice  of 
the  actions  of  office-holders.  In  comes  the  cat  story  again. 
After  my  money  was  gone,  they  let  me  go,  as  the  monkey 
did  the  cats,  and  rammed  it  all  in  his  mouth,  and  dismissed 
the  Court,  and  I  went  whining,  as  the  cats  did,  about  my 
most  shameful  treatment,  throughout  the  State  of  California. 
But  be  it  known,  that  the  Anglo-Saxon  race  were  my  best 
friends  through  it  all. 


A  FEW  SKETCHES  OF  THE  CATHOLIC  AND 
PKOTESTANT   CHUKCHES. 

The  Protestants  say  that  the  Catholics  worship  idols.  I 
want  to  show  to  you,  that  I  am  ol  a  Methodist  opinion,  and 
Methodist  belief.  I  am  going  to  show  to  you,  according  to 
my  weak  opinion,  that  there  is  no  difference  in  religion.  Yes, 
but  the  Catholics  bow  down  to  wooden  images.  Is  there  any- 
thing wrong  about  that?  They  do  it  as  a  token  of  remem- 
brance of  Christ.  Don't  the  Protestants  have  likenesses  of 
some  great  man,  or  of  their  fathers  or  mothers,  and  worship 
them  in  some  like  manner?  Then  why  not  have  the  picture 
of  our  Saviour  in  our  houses  ?  He  is  more  to  us  than  all  of 
them.  Crosses  and  trials  and  persecutions  are  of  the  way 
to  heaven  ;  but  let  us  endeavor  to  give  God  the  glory,  and 
yet  will  I  trust  in  Him  all  the  days  of  my  life,  until  my 
change  takes  place. 

As  far  as  I  could  see  in  all  my  travels,  the  Catholic  priests  are 
thoroughly  educated.  Then  they  are  not  fools.  You  say  that 
they  address  their  prayers  to  the  Virgin  Mary,  to  get  her  to  in- 
tercede with  Christ  for  them.  Is  there  anything  wrong  about 
that  ?  The  Protestants  pray  to  the  Son  to  intercede  with 
the  Father  ;  but  the  Catholics  say  mass  and  go  to  the  priest 
to  confess.  What  does  the  priest  say  ?  He  tells  them  to  do 
nothing  wrong,  but  to  go  in  peace  and  sin  no  more.  Is  there 
anything  wrong  about  that?  The  Methodists  and  Baptists 
have  class  meetings,  and  they  stand  up  before  a  man  that 
they  call  a  leader  and  confess  to  him,  and  he  tells  them  to 
do  no  evil,  and  to  go  in  peace  and  sin  no  more.  Is  there 
any  difference  between  the  two  ? 

Seeing  this,  it  occurs  to  my  mind  what  is  the  use  of  so  much 
caviling  against  the  Catholics,  for  the  Protestants  are,  more 
or  less,  continually  slandering  the  Catholics.  They  remind 
me  of  Jeff  Davis'  followers,  when  they  had  fired  on  Fort 
Sumpter,  and  then  cried,  "  Let  us  alone."  Header,  you  ask 
the  reason  of  my  making  these  remarks  concerning  the  Cath- 
olics. These  came  under  my  noticesduring  my  life.  We  are  all 


(     62     ) 

living  together,  and  we  should  be  friendly  one  with  "another, 
and  not  despise  each  other.  The  Protestants  bit  off  their  noses 
to  spite  their  own  faces,  in  the  taxation  of  their  own  churches  to 
get  to  tax  the  Catholics.  They  are  able  to  pay  their  taxes,  whilst 
some  of  the  Protestants  are  hardly  able  to  pay  the  tax  that  is 
assessed  on  them.  They  are  the  most  benevolent  body  that 
we  have  amongst  us.  They  take  care  of  their  members  and  their 
sick,  and  provide  for  their  widows,  as  far  as  I  can  see,  and 
understand  that  their  faith  and  belief  are  the  bulwarks  of  re- 
ligion. If  you  belong  to  a  secret  society  in  California,  and 
are  in  good  standing,  and  should  go  to  Europe,  and  find  a 
body  there  of  the  same  association  as  that  which  you  are 
identified  with  here,  after  undergoing  a  strict  examination, 
and  finding  you  to  be  in  good  standing  in  the  former  associa- 
tion, then,  by  your  good  works  and  having  the  password, 
you  are  admitted  into  that  association.  Then  let  us  live  in 
the  faith,  and  die  in  the  faith,  for  faith  is  the  key  that  un- 
locks the  gate  of  heaven.  The  God  of  heaven  will  not  ask 
us  whether  we  are  Catholics,  Baptists  or  Methodists.  There 
are  but  two  places — heaven  and  hell.  We  are  all  striving  for 
the  same  place  ;  then  let  us  stop  ridiculing  one  another.  I, 
J.  Williams,  found  that  the  Catholics,  whilst  I  was  collect- 
ingfor  the  A.  M.  E.  Church,  were  very  benevolent.  Every  priest 
in  the  State  gave  me  something,  except  two.  Father  Cotter 
gave  me  $20,  and  Father  Gibny  gave  me  $10,  and  another 
priest  in  this  city  gave  me  $15.  Every  priest  that  I  called 
on  in  San  Francisco  gave  me  a  liberal  contribution,  except 
one  ;  and  also  in  Marysville  the  priest  gave  me,  as  also  did 
the  Catholic  priest  in  Grass  Valley  Mr.  Senks,  of  Grass 
Valley,  informed  me  that  the  priest  gave  him  $50  for  the 
A.  M.  E.  Church  of  that  place.  Is  not  that  a  good  act? 
Why  do  we  cavil  so  much  against  the  Catholics?  Let  us 
live  in  harmony  one  with  the  other  whilst  on  this  earth,  and 
help  each  other  their  burdens  to  bear.  After  death  we  will 
all  live  in  heaven  together,  if  we  are  prepared  for  that  place, 
or  else  in  the  horrible  pit,  with  the  rich  man  Dives. 

"  Blessed  are  ye  when  men  shall  revile  you  and  persecute 
you,  and  say  all  manner  of  evil  against  you,  falsely,  for  my 
sake.  Rejoice,  and  be  exceeding  glad,  for  great  is  your  re- 
ward in  heaven,  for  so  persecuted  they  the  prophets  which 
were  before  you." 


(     63     ) 

In  1871  1  was  employed  to  solicit  aid  to  pay  a  debt  on 
the  Siloam  Baptist  Church,  of  Sacramento.  I  found  it  an 
unthankful  job,  as  1  generally  found  it  in  other  Churches. 
There  was  confusion  and  jars,  as  usual  in  such  bodies.  One 
could  not  do  enough.  It  is  true, -reader,  that  lama  pro- 
fessor of  religion;  also,  I  must  state  the  fact  that  it  is  not 
all  that  make  the  loudest  professions  that  are  the  most  ex- 
emplary Christians.  In  all  churches  that  I  have  been  con- 
nected with  I  have  always  found  two  parties,  one  working 
against  the  other.  That  is  the  cause  of  the  confusion.  I 
was  employed  just  before  a  trustee  election,  and  the  old 
Board  of  Trustees  demanded  the  moneys  that  I  collected, 
saying  that  they  put  me  in,  and  I  must  handover  the  moneys 
collected  to  them.  The  new  Board  of  Trustees  took  ex- 
ceptions at  it,  and  they  published  that  I  was  no  longer  a  col- 
lector for  the  Siloam  Baptist  Church,  without  stating  that  I 
had  resigned,  and  settled  in  an  honorable  manner.  Then  I 
made  them  republish  me,  stating  that  I  had  resigned  honor- 
ably, and  my  accounts  were  correct.  My  making  them  make 
a  statement  of  collections,  caused  some  hard  feelings,  and 
made  me  not  a  few  enemies.  I  was  informed  that  one  of  the 
members  made  a  statement  in  the  Church,  and  asked  for  as- 
sistance to  raise  money  to  fee  a  lawyer  to  defeat  the  enemy, 
whilst  I  was  in  prison;  that  the  enemy  had  employed  one  of 
the  best  lawyers  in  the  State,  and  by  making  these  remarks, 
I  supposed  that  they  were  alluding  to  me.  This  was  after 
the  report  of  the  coroner's  jury. 

James  Williams  testified  before  the  coroner's  jury,  in  the 
Lizzie  Thompson  homicide,  that  the  watch,  and  other  jewel- 
ry of  the  deceased  were  oroide,  and  not  valuable  Another 
colored  man,  who  also  gave  evidence,  and  who  manifested 
much  feeling  against  Williams,  testified  the  watch  was  gold, 
he  thought,  and  of  considerable  value.  A  manufacturing 
jeweler  of  this  city,  who  repaired  it,  states  that  it  was  a 
small  oroide  cylinder  escapement,  not  worth,  when  new, 
more  than  $15.00  in  greenbacks.  When  Williams  was  ex- 
amined upon  the  charge  of  being  accessory  to  the  homicide, 
there  was  not  a  particle  of  evidence  against  him,  and  it  now 
appears  that  he,  and  not  the  other  witness,  assigned  the  true 
value  to  the  woman's  jewelry.  And  Williams  further  testi- 
fied that  the  woman  had  $19  or  $20  in  the  Sacramento  Sav- 


(     64    ) 

ings  Bank;  but  the  other  witnesses  testified  that  she  had  ($150) 
one  hundred  and  fifty  dollars,  but  when  the  undertaker,  Mr. 
Canboie  Williams,  and  the  girl's  mother  went  to  the  bank, 
thev  found  $19.85  to  her  credit.  Reader,  you  can  draw  your 
own  conclusion,  whether  I  have  been  treated  right  by  the  pec- 
pie  of  color,  and  more  especially  by  the  church  members,  or  a 
portion  of  them.  I  would  advise  all  persons,  especially  the 
young,  to  avoid,  as  much  as  possible,  handling  moneys  be- 
longing to  a  church,  and  more  especially  the  African  churches, 
for  that  has  done  me  more  harm  than  anything  that  I  know  of, 
for  that  race  do  not  give  one  another  credit  for  anything  good 
done  for  the  whole  body.  Said  one  of  the  members,  in  con- 
nection with  one  of  the  Methodist  brothers,  "He  robbed  aunt 
Susan."  Let  us  see  how  be  has  robbed  her.  I  wish  for  the 
reader  to  know  the  facts  in  this  particular  case.  An  old 
colored  lady,  by  the  name  of  Susan  Neal,  came  from  Ala- 
bama to  California  with  her  owners,  and  gained  her  free- 
dom by  coming  to  California,  and  afterwards  married 
Charles  Neal,  who  died,  and  left  her  in  debt.  Then  there 
was  a  suit  brought  against  her  for  his  debts,  or  for  a  debt; 
and  to  liquidate  the  said  debt,  she  went  around  and  begged 
money  of  the  people.  Sometime  after  paying  that  debt,  a 
certain  lawyer  and  a  Judge  said  that  if  she  could  pay  one 
debt,  she  could  pay  them  for  fees  due  them.  So  they  com- 
menced suits  against  her  for  their  fees.  The  day  the  trial 
was  to  come  off,  I  met  her  in  the  street,  crying.  I  said  to  her 
"What  is  the  matter,  Aunt  Susan?"  She  answered,  "What 
has  always  been  the  matter  with  me — the  same  thing  that 
has  always  been  the  matter  with  me  is  the  matter  with  me 
now.  The  people  down  South  have  got  all  my  labor,  and  I 
have  come  to  California,  and  got  free,  and  made  a  little  mo- 
ney, and  now  the  white  folks  are  trying  to  rob  me  out  of  that. 
There  is  a  suit  coming  off  to-day  against  me,  and  I  have 
been  to  two  or  three  colored  men,"  calling  their  names;  "ask- 
ing them  if  they  would  help  me,  but  just  as  soon  as  they 
found  that  they  had  a  little  money  to  pay,  they  would  not  do 
anything  for  me.  I  went  to  the  Society  that  my  husband 
belonged  to,  the  United  Sons  of  Friendship,  and  said  to 
them,  "If  you  will  pay  the  debt  on  my  property,  and 
let  me  have  it  as  long  as  I  live,  and  then  you  can  have 
-it."  But  when  they  found  out  that  they  had  some  money 


to  pay  out,  they  refused.  Then  she  spoke  to  me  and  asked  me 
if  I  would  go  and  see  her  out  to-day.  I  said,  "Certainly," 
and  I  went  with  her  to  W.  E.  Cantwell's  office,  and  settled 
the  claim  that  he  had  against  her,  and  didn't  ask  for  any  se- 
curity. A  few  days  afterwards  she  came  to  me  and  said, 
"Mr.  "Williams,  if  you  will  pay  off  all  -of  the  debts  against 
my  property  and  protect  me  so  that  the  white  folks  wont  rob 
me  any  more,  then,  at  my  death,  you  can  have  it  all,  for  I 
have  no  one  in  the  world  to  care  for  me."  Then  she  asked 
me  to  go  with  her  to  her  lawyer.  I  went  with  her,  and  her 
lawyer  explained  it  to  her,  and  asked  her  if  she  knew  what 
she  was  doing.  She  answered,  "Yes,  I  know  thoroughly 
what  I  am  doing.  I  want  to  put  my  property  in  Mr.  Wil- 
liams' hands,  so  that  the  white  folks  can't  rob  me,  and  have 
him  for  a  protector."  He  drew  up  the  writings  for  her,  and 
there  was  a  white  friend  present  throughout  the  transaction. 
Then  afterwards  her  lawyer  explained  the  writing  to  her 
agent.  Then  we  went  to  Judge  Cross's  office,  and  he  read 
the  papers  and  explained  them  to  her,  and  she  acknowledged 
them  and  seemed  to  be  satisfied  with  their  contents. 

"  Ah,lWilliams  is  a  rascal,  they  say;  "  he  robbed  Aunt  Sue 
out  of  her  property."  Now,  reader,  you  can  see  how  he 
robbed  her.  This  is  a  true  statement  of  the  facts.  Whilst  I 
was  doing  this  no  one  had  anything  to  say,  one  way  or  the 
other,  either  for  or  against,  but  just  as  soon  as  she  got  sick, 
(I  was  in  San  Francisco,  at  the  time,)  some  of  my  enemies 
went  to  see  her,  and  persuaded  her  to  make  a  will  in  favor 
of  some  outside  persons  that  had  never  done  anything  for 
her,  without  regard  to  the  deed  that  she  had  given  to  me. 
She  being  sick  did  not  understand  what  she  was  doing, 
and  in  consequence  of  their  importunities,  she  made  the  will, 
and  when  i  came  back  these  parties  that  were  with  her  would 
shut  the  door  in  my  face  and  refused  to  let  me  see  her,  and 
the  groceries  and  provisions  that  I  sent  to  her  they  would 
send  back.  Then,  after  her  death,  which  happened  about 
six  weeks  after  the  above  occurrence,  my  enemies  got  them- 
selves appointed  to  carry  out  the  provisions  of  the  will,  and 
settled  up  the  estate,  and  their  services  were  given  in,  as 
they  wished  to  assist  the  widow  that  the  will  was  made  in 
favor  of ;  but  afterwards,  in  settling  up  the  estate,  they  de- 
manded one  hundred  dollars  for  their  services.  When  I 
8 


(     66     ) 

found  that  they  all  wanted  the  property  more  than  I  did,  I 
offered  to  compromise  with  them,  by  their  paying  ine  the 
moneys  that  I  had  paid  out,  with  interest.  They  did  so, 
and  seta  trap  to  rob  me  out  of  about  half  of  the  money, 
and  succeeded  in  it.  So  you  see  how  I  robbed  her.  May 
God  have  mercy  on  such  a  sinful  and  treacherous  set. 


THE  STORY  OP  CHARLES  THOMPSON. 

He  was  a  member  of  the  Baptist  Church  of  Richmond. 
In  stature  he  was  medium  size,  color  dark,  hair  long  and 
bushy,  rather  of  rawboned  and  rugged  appearance,  modest 
and  self-possessed,  with  much  more  intelligence  than  would 
be  supposed  from  first  observation.  On  his  arrival  here  he 
had  shaken  hands  with  the  British  Lion's  paw,  which  he 
was  desirous  of  doing,  and  changed  the  habiliments  in 
which  he  escaped.  Having  listened  to  the  recital  of  this 
thrilling  tale,  and  wishing  to  get  it,  we  here  produce  it, 
word  for  word,  as  it  flowed  naturally  from  his  lips.  "  How 
old  are  you  ?''  "  Thirty-two  years,  first  day  of  last  day  June." 
"  Was  you  born  a  slave  "  ?  "  Yes."  "  How  have  you  been 
treated?"  " Badly,  all  of  the  time,  for  the  last  twelve 
years."  "  What  do  mean  you  by  being  treated  badly  ?"  "  I 
have  been  whipped  and  they  never  gave  me  anything. "  "  What 
was  the  name  of  your  master  ?"  "Pleming  Bibbs."  "  Where 
did  you  live  ?"  "  In  Caroline  County,  fifty  miles  above  Rich- 
mond." "  What  did  your  master  do  ?"  "  He  was  a  farmer.'' 
"  Did  you  ever  live  with  him  ?"  "I  never  did.  He  always 
hired  me  out,  and  then  I  couldn't  please  him."  "  What 
kind  of  a  man  was  he  ?"  "A  man  with  a  very  severe  temper; 
would  drink  at  all  times,  though  he  would  do  it  slyly." 
"  Was  he  a  member  of  any  Church?"  "Yes,  a  Baptist  ;  he 
would  curse  at  his  servants,  as  if  he  wern't  in  any  church.'' 
"Was  his  family  members  of  the  church  too?"  "Yes." 
"  What  kind  of  family  had  he  ?"  "  His  wife  was  a  tolerable 


(    67     )i 

fair  woman,  but  his  sons  were  dissipated,  and  all  of  tliem 
rowdies  and  gamblers.  The  sons  have  had  children  by  the 
servants.  One  of  his  daughters  had  a  child  by  his  grand- 
son last  April.  They  are  traders — buy  and  sell."  "How 
many  slaves  did  he  own?"  "Fifteen,  besides  myself." 
"  Did  any  of  them  know  that  you  were  a  going  to  leave?" 
"No  ;  I  saw  my  brother  on  Tuesday,  but  never  said  a  word 
to  him  about  it."  "What  put  it  in  your  head  to  leave?" 
"  It  was  bad  treatment  for  being  put  in  jail  for  soil,  the  7th 
day  of  last  January.  I  was  whipped  in  jail,  and  after  I  came 
out,  the  only  thing  they  told  me  was  that  jl  had  been  selling 
newspapers  about  the  streets,  and  was  half  free."  "Where 
did  you  live  then?"  "In  Richmond.  I  have  been  living 
out  for  twenty -two  years."  "How  much  did  your  master 
receive  a  year  for  your  services  ?"  ' '  From  sixty-five  to  one 
hundred  and  fifty  dollars.*'  <;  Did  you  have  to  find  your- 
self?" "  No  ;  the  people  who  hired  me  found  me.  The  gen- 
eral rule  in  Richmond  is  75  cts.  fora  week's  board  is  allowed, 
and  if  a  man  gets  any  more  than  that  he  has  to  find  it  him- 
self ?"  "  How  about  Sunday  clothing  ?"  "  Find  them  your- 
self." "How  about  a  house  to  live  in?"  "Have  that  to 
find  yourself,  and  if  you  have  a  wife  and  family  it  makes  no 
difference — they  don't  allow  anything  for  that  at  all."  "  Sup- 
pose you  are  sick,  who  pays  the  doctor?"  "Our  master 
pays  that."  "  How  do  you  manage  to  make  a  little  extra 
money?"  "By  getting  up  before  day  and  carrying  out 
papers  and  doing  others  jobs,  cleaning  up  single  men's 
rooms  and  the  like."  "What  have  you  been  employed  at  in 
Richmond  ?'7  "  Beenworkingin  a  tobacco  factory;  thisyear 
I  was  hired  to  a  printing  office,  the  National  American.  I 
carried  papers."  "  Had  you  a  wife  ?"  "I  had,  but  her  mas- 
ter was  a  very  bad  man,  and  was  opposed  to  me,  and  would 
not  let  me  come  there  to  see  my  wife,  and  he  persuaded  her 
to  take  another  husband,  and  being  in  his  hands  she  took 
his  advice."  "How  long  ago  was  that?"  "Near  twelve 
months  ago.  She  got  married  last  fall."  "Had  you  any 
children  ?"  "  Yes,  five."  "Where  are  they?"  "  Three  are 
with  Jacob  Luck,  her  master;  one  with  his  sister,  and  the 
other  belongs  to  Judge  Hudgins,  of  Bowling  Green."  "  Do 
you  expect  to  see  them  again."  "No,  not  till  the  day  of 
the  Great  I  am."  "What  do  you  think  of  slavery?"  "I 


(    68    ) 

think  that  it  is  great  curse,  and  I  think  the  Baptists  in  Rich- 
mond  will  go  to  the  deepest  hell,  if  there  is  any,  for  they  are 
so  wicked  they  will  work  you  all  day  and  part  of  the  night, 
and  wear  cloaks  and  long  faces,  and  try  to  get  all  of  the 
work  out  of  you  that  they  can,  by  telling  you  of  Jesus  Christ. 
Out  of  their  extra  money  they  have  to  pay  a  white  man  five 
hundred  dollars  a  y§ar  for  preaching."  "  What  kind  of 
preaching  does  he  give  you  ?"  "  He  tells  them  if  they  die  in 
their  sins  they  will  go  to  hell,  and  that  they  must  obey  their 
masters  and  mistresses  ;  for  good  servants  make  good  masters. 
All  they  want  you  to  know  is  enough  to  say  master  and  mis- 
tress, and  run  like  lightning  when  they  speak  to  you,  and  do 
just  what  they  want  you  to  do." 


HENRY    BOX  BROWN. 

Although  the  name  of  Henry  Box  Brown  has  been  echoed 
over  the  land  for  a  number  of  years,  and  the  simple  facts 
connected  with  his  miraculous  escape  in  a  box  from  slavery 
published  widely  through  the  medium  of  anti-slavery  payers, 
nevertheless,  it  is  not  unreasonable  to  suppose  that  very  lit- 
tle is  known  in  relation  to  his  case.  Brown  was  a  man  of 
invention  as  well  as  a  hero.  He  was  decidedly  an  unhappy 
piece  of  property  in  the  City  of  Richmond,  in  the  condition 
of  a  slave.  He  felt  that  it  would  be  impossible  for  him  to 
remain.  Full  well  did  he  know  that  it  was  no  holiday  task 
to  escape  the  vigilance  of  Virginia  slave-hunters,  as  the 
wrath  of  an  enraged  master,  for  committing  the  unpardona- 
ble sin  of  attempting  to  escape  to  a  land  of  liberty,  would  be 
unappeaseable.  So  Brown  counted  well  the  cost  before  ven- 
turing upon  this  hazardous  undertaking.  Ordinary  modes  of 
travel,  he  concluded,  might  prove  disastrous  to  his  hopes 
He,  therefore,  hit  upon  a  new  invention,  which  was  to  have 
himself  boxed  up  and  forwarded  to  Philadelphia,  direct,  by 
express.  The  size  of  the  box  and  how  it  was  to  be  made  to 
fit  him  most  comfortably  was  of  his  own  ordering.  Two  fee 


(     69     ) 

eight  inches  deep,  two  feet  wide  and  three  feet  long,  was  the 
exact  dimensions  of  the  box,  lined  with  baize.  His  resources, 
with  regard  to  food  and  water,  consisted  of  one  bladder  of 
water  and  a  few  small  biscuits.  Satisfied  that  it  would  be  far 
better  to  peril  his  life  for  freedom  in  this  way,  than  to  re- 
main under  the  galling  yoke  of  slavery,  he  entered  his  box, 
which  was  safely  nailed  up,  and  hooped  with  five  hickory 
hoops,  and  was  then  addressed  by  his  next  friend,  James  A. 
Smith,  a  shoe  dealer,  to  Wm.  H.  Johnson.  Arch  street,  Phil- 
adelphia, marked,  "  This  side  up  with  care."  In  this  con- 
dition he  was  sent  to  Adams'  Express  Office  in  a  dray,  and 
thence  by  overland  express  to  Philadelphia.  It  was  twenty- 
six  hours  from  the  time  he  left  Richmond  until  his  arrival 
in  the  City  of  Brotherly  Love.  The  notice,  "This  side  up 
with  care,"  did  not  avail  much;  for  awhile  they  actuallv  had 
the  box  upside  down,  and  had  him  standing  on  his  head  for 
miles.  A  few  days  before  he  was  expected,  certain  intima- 
tion was  conveyed  to  a  member  of  the  Yigilance  Committee, 
that  a  box  might  be  expected  by  the  three  o'clock  morning 
train,  from  the  South,  which  might  contain  a  man.  One  of 
the  most  serious  walks  he  ever  took,  was  at  half-past  two 
o'clock  that  morning  to  the  depot — not  once,  but  for  more 
than  a  score  of  times.  He  fancied  the  slave  would  be  deadt 
He  anxiously  looked  while  the  freight  was  being  unloaded 
from  the  cars,  to  see  if  he  could  recognize  a  box  that  might 
contain  a  man.  One  alone  had  that  appearance,  and  he  con- 
iessed  it  really  seemed  as  if  there  was  the  scent  of  death 
about  it.  But,  on  inquiry,  he  soon  learned  that  it  was  not 
the  one  he  was  looking  for.  That  same  afternoon  he  received 
from  Kichrnond  a  telegram,  which  read  thus:  "Your  case  of 
goods  is  shipped,  and  will  arrive  to-morrow  morning.'7  At 
this  exciting  juncture  of  affairs,  Mr.  McKim,  who  had  been 
engineering  this  important  undertaking,  deemed  it,  expe- 
dient to  change  the  programme  slightly,  in  one  particular,  at 
least,  to  insure  greater  safety.  Instead  of  having  a  member 
of  the  Committee  go  again  to  the  depot  for  the  box,  which 
might  excite  suspicion,  it  was  decided  that  it  would  be  safest 
to  have  the  express  bring  it  direct  to  the  Anti-Slavery  office 
But  all  apprehension  of  danger  did  not  now  dissapear,  for 
there  was  no  room  to  suppose  that  Adams'  Express  Office 
had  any  sympathy  with  the  abolitionists  or  the  fugitive;  con- 


(     70    ) 

sequently,  it  was  contemplated  Mr.  McKirn  should  appear 
personally  at  the  Express  office  to  give  directions  with  ref- 
erence to  the  coming  of  a  box  from  Richmond,  which 
would  be  directed  to  Arch  street,  and  yet  not  intended  for 
that  street,  but  for  the  Anti-Slavery  office,  at  107  North 
Fifth  street.  It  needed,  of  course,  no  great  discernment  to 
foresee  that  a  step  of  this  kind  would  be  wholly  impractica- 
ble, and  that  a  more  indirect  and  covert  method  would  have 
to  be  adopted  in  this  dreadful  crisis.  Mr.  McKim,  with  his 
usual  good  judgment  and  remarkably  quick  strategetical  mind, 
especially  in  matters  pertaining  to  the  U.  Gr.  Eailroad,  hit 
upon  the  following  plan,  namely,  to  go  to  his  friend  E.  M. 
Davis,  who  was  engaged  in  mercantile  business,  and  relate 
the  circumstances.  Having  daily  intercourse  with  the  said 
office,  and  being  well  acquainted  with  the  firm  and  some  of 
the  drivers,  Mr.  Davis  could,  as  Mr.  McKim  thought,  talk 
about  boxes,  freight,  etc.,  from  any  part  of  the  country,  with- 
out risk? 

Mr.  Davis  heard  Mr.  McKim's  plan  and  instantly  approved 
of  it,  and  was  heartily  at  his  service.  "Dan,  an  Irishman, 
one  of  Adam's  express  drivers,  is  just  the  fellow  to  go  to 
the  depot  after  the  box,"  said  Davis.  "  He  drinks  a  little 
too  much  whisky  sometimes,  but  he  will  do  anything  I 
ask  him  to  do  promptly  I'll  trust  Dan,  for  I  believe  him  to 
be  the  very  man."  The  difficulty  which  Mr.  Kim  had  been 
so  anxius  to  overcome  was  thus  pretty  well  settled.  It  was 
agreed  that  Dan  should  go  after  the  box  next  morning,  be- 
fore daylight,  and  bring  it  to  the  Anti-Slavery  office,  and, 
to  make  it  all  the  more  agreeable  for  Dan  to  get  up  out  of 
his  warm  bed  and  go  on  this  errand  before  day,  it  was  de- 
cided that  he  should  have  a  five  dollar  gold  piece  for  him- 
self. Thus  these  preliminaries  having  been  satisfactorily  ar- 
ranged, it  only  remained  for  Mr.  Davis  to  see  Dan,  and  give 
him  instructions  accordingly. 

.Next  morning,  according  to  arrangement,  the  box  was  at 
the  Anti-slavery  office  in  due  time.  The  witnesses  present 
to  behold  the  resurrection  were  :  J.  McKim,  C.  I).  Cleave- 
land,  L.  Thompson  and  the  writer.  All  was  quiet.  The 
door  had  been  safely  locked.  The  proceedings  commenced. 
Mr.  McKim  stopped  quietly  on  the  lid  of  the  box,  and 
called  out,  "All  right."  Instantly  came  the  answer  from 


within,  "All  right,  sir."  The  witnesses  will  never  forget 
that  moment.  Saw  and  hatchet  quickly  had  the  five  hick- 
ory hoops  cut  and  the  lid  off,  and  the  marvelous  resurrec- 
tion of  Brown  ensued.  Eising  up  in  his  box,  he  reached  out 
his  hand,  saying,  "How  do  you  do,  gentlemen  ?"  The  little 
assemblage  hardly  knew  what  to  think  or  do  at  the  moment. 
He  was  as  wet  as  if  he  come  out  of  the  Delaware  river. 

Very  soon  he  remarked  that,  before  leaving  Richmond,  he 
had  selected,  to  sing  on  his  arrival,  if  he  lived,  the  Psalm  be- 
ginning with  these  words  :  "  I  waited  patiently  for  the  Lord, 
and  he  heard  my  prayer."  And  most  touchingly  did  he  sing 
the  psalm,  much  to  his  own  relief  as  well  as  to  the  delight 
of  his  small  audience.  He  was  then  christened  "Henry 
Box  Brown,"  and  was  soon  afterwards  sent  to  the  hospitable 
residence  of  James  Mott  and  E.  M.  Davis,  on  Ninth  street, 
where,  it  is  needless  to  say,  he  met  a  most  cordial  welcome 
from  Mrs.  Lucretia  Mott  and  her — household,  clothing  and 
creature  comforts  were  furnished  in  abundance,  and  delight 
and  joy  filled  all  hearts.  He  had  been  so  long  doubled  up 
in  the  box  he  needed  to  promenade  considerably  in  the 
fresh  air.  So  James  Mott  put  one  of  his  broad-brim  hats 
on  his  head,  and  tendered  him  the  hospitalities  of  his  yard  as 
well  as  his  house,  whilst  Brown  promenaded  the  yard,  flushed 
with  victory.  Great  was  the  joy  of  his  friends.  After  his 
visit  at  Mrs.  Mott's,  he  spent  two  days  with  the  writer,  and 
then  took  his  departure  for  Boston,  evidently  feeling  quite 
conscious  of  the  wonderful  feat  he  had  performed. 


STOKY  OF  A  YOUNG  WOMAN'S  ESCAPE  FKOM  SLA- 
VEKY  IN  A  BOX— NAME  UNKNOWN. 

In  the  winter  of  1857,  a  young  woman,  who  had  just 
turned  her  majority,  was  boxed  up  in  Baltimore  by  one 
who  stood  to  her  in  the  relation  of  a  companion,  a  young 
man,  who  had  the  box  conveyed  as  freight  to  the  depot  in 
Baltimore,  consigned  to  Philadelphia.  Nearly  all  one  night 


(    72    ) 

it  remained  at  the  depot  with  the  living  agony  in  it,  and, 
after  being  upside  down  more  than  once,  the  next  day,  about 
ten  o'clock,  it  reached  Philadelphia.  Her  companion  com- 
ing on  in  advance  of  the  box,  arranged  with  a  hackman, 
George  Custis,  to  attend  to  having  it  brought  from  the  de- 
pot to  a  designated  house,  Mrs.  Myers',  412  South  Seventh 
street,  where  the  resurrection  was  to  take  place.  Custis, 
without  knowing  exactly  what  the  box  contained,  but  suspect- 
ing, from  the  apparent  anxiety  and  instruction  of  the  young- 
man  who  engaged  him  to  go  after  it.  Whilst  the  frieght-car 
still  stood  in  the  street,  he  demanded  it  of  the  frieght  agent, 
not  willing  to  wait  the  usual  time  for  delivery  of  frieght. 
At  first,  the  frieght  agent  declined  delivering,  under  such 
circumstances.  The  hackman  insisted,  by  saying  that  he 
wished  to  dispatch  it  in  great  haste,  saying,"  ' '  It  is  all  right. 
You  know  me.  I  have  been  coming  here  for  many  years 
every  day,  and  will  be  responsible  for  it."  The  frieght- 
master  told  him  to  take  it  and  go  ahead  with  it.  No  sooner 
said  than  done.  It  was  placed  in  a  one-horse  wagon,  at  the 
instance  of  Custis,  and  driven  to  Seventh  and  Minster  sts. 
The  secret  had  been  entrusted  to  ]\trs.  Myers,  by  the  young 
companion  of  the  woman.  A  feeling  of  horror  came  over 
the  aged  woman  who  had  been  thus  suddenly  entrusted  with 
such  responsibility.  A  few  doors  from  her  lived  an  old  friend 
of  the  same  religious  faith  with  herself,  well  known  as  a  brave 
woman  and  a  friend  of  the  slave,  Mrs.  Ash,  the  undertaker,  or 
shrouder,  whom  everybody  knew  among  the  colored  people. 
Mrs.  Myers  thought  it  would  not  be  wise  to  move  in  the  matter 
of  this  resurrection,  without  the  presence  of  the  under- 
taker. Accordingly,  she  called  for  Mrs.  Ash.  Even  her 
own  family  were  excluded  from  witnessing  the  scene.  The 
two  aged  women  chose  to  be  alone  in  that  fearful  moment, 
shuddering  at  the  thought  that  a  corpse  might  meet  their 
gaze  instead  of  a  living  creature.  However,  they  mustered 
courage  and  pried  off  the  lid.  A  woman  was  discovered  in 
the  straw,  but  no  signs  of  life  were  perceptible.  Their  fears 
seemed  fulfilled.  Surely  she  is  dead,  thought  the  witnesses. 
"Get  up,  my  child,"  spoke  one  of  the  women.  With 
scarcely  life  enough  to  move  the  straw  covering,  she  never- 
theless did  now  show  signs  of  life,  but  to  a  very  faint  degree. 
She  could  not  speak,  but,  being  assisted,  arose.  She  was 


(     73     ) 

straightway  aided  up  stairs,  not  yet  uttering  a  word.  After 
a  short  while  she  said,  "I  feel  so  deadly  faint."  She  was 
then  asked  if  she  would  not  have  some  water  or  nourishment^ 
which  she  declined.  Before  a  great  while,  however,  she  was 
prevailed  upon  to  take  a  cup  of  tea.  She  then  went  to  bed, 
and  there  remained  all  day,  speaking  but  a  very  little  during 
that  time.  The  second  day  she  gained  strength,  and  was  able 
to  talk  much  better,  but  not  with  ease.  The  third  day  she 
began  to  come  to  herself,  and  to  talk  quite  freely.  She  tried  to 
describe  her  sufferings  and  fears  while  in  the  box,  but  in 
vain.  In  the  midst  of  her  severest  agonies,  her  chief  fear 
was  that  she  would  be  discovered  and  carried  back  to  slavery. 
She  had  a  pair  of  scissors  with  her,  and  in  order  to  procure 
fresh  air,  she  had  made  a  hole  in  the  box,  but  it  was  very 
slight.  How  she  ever  managed  to  breathe  and  maintain 
her  existence,  being  in  the  condition  of  becoming  a  mother, 
it  was  hard  to  comprehend.  In  this  instance,  the  utmost  en- 
durance was  put  to  the  test.  She  was  obviously  nearer  death 
than  Henry  Box  Brown,  or  any  other  of  the  box  cases  that 
ever  came  under  the  notice  of  the  committee.  In  Baltimore 
she  b  'longed  to  a  wealthy  and  fashionable  family,  and  had 
been  a  seamstress  and  ladies'  servant  generally.  On  one  oc- 
casion, when  sent  of  an  errand  for  certain  articles,  in  order 
to  complete  arrangements  for  the  grand  opening  ball  at  the 
Academy  of  Music,  she  took  occasion  not  to  return,  but  was 
among  the  missing.  Great  search  was  made,  and  a  large  re- 
ward offered,  but  all  to  no  purpose.  A  free  colored  woman 
who  washed  for  the  family  was  suspected  of  knowing  some- 
thing of  her  going,  but  they  failing  to  get  aught  out  of  her, 
she  was  discharged.  Soon  after  the  arrival  of  this  traveler 
at  Mrs.  Myers',  the  committee  was  sent  for,  and  learned  the 
facts  as  above  stated.  After  spending  some  three  days  with 
Mrs.  Myers'  family,  she  was  forwarded  to  Canada. 


STOBY  OF  HAKRY  GBIMES. 

Harry  was  about  forty -six  years  of  age,  according  to  his 
reckoning,  full  six  feet  high,   and   in   muscular   appearance 
was  very  rugged,  and  in  his  countenance  were  evident  marks 
9 


(     74     ) 

of  firmness.     He  was  born  a  slave  in    North    Carolina,  and 
had  been  sold  three  times.     The    first  time  when  a   child, 
second  time  when  he  was  thirteen,   and  the  third  and  last 
time  to  Jesse  Moore,  from  whom  he  fled.     He  said  that  he 
had  been  treated  very  bad.     One  day  we  were  grubbing,  and 
master  said  we  didn't  do  work  enough.     "How  come  it  there 
was  no  more  work  done  that  day  ?"  said  master  to  me.  I  told 
him  1  did  work.     In  a  more  stormy  manner  he  repeated  the 
question.     I  then  spoke  up,  and  said,  "  Massa,  I  don't  know 
what  to  say."     At  once   master  plunged  his   knife  into  my 
neck,  causing   me   to    stagger.     He    was    drunk.     He  then 
drove  me  down  to  the  black  folks'  cabins.     He  then  got  his 
gun,  and  called  the  overseer,  and  told  him  to  get  some  ropes. 
While  he  was  gone,  I  said,   "  Master,  now  you  are  agoing  to 
tie  me  up  and  cut  me  all  to  pieces  for  nothing.  "    In  a  great 
rage  go  said,  "Go."     I  jumped,  and  he  put  up  his   gun  and 
snapped  both  barrels  at  me.     He  then  set  his  dogs  on  me  ; 
but  as  i  had  been  in  the  habit  of  making  much  of  them,  feed- 
ing them,  they  would  not  follow  me.     I  kept  on  straight  to 
the  woods.     My  master  and  overseer  caught  the  horses  and 
tried  to  run  me  down,  but,  as  the  dogs  would  not  follow  me, 
they  could  not  make  any  thing  of  it.     It  was  the  last  of  August, 
one  year  ago  :  the   devil  was   into  him,  and  he  flogged  and 
beat  four   of  the   slaves,  one  man  and  three  of  the  women, 
and  said,  if  he  could  only  get  hold  of  me  he  wouldn't  strike 
me  nary  a  lick,  but  would   tie  ine  to  a  tree  and  empty  both 
barrels  into  me.     My  master  was  a  man  about  fifty  years  of 
age,     a  right  red-looking    man,  a  big    bellied   old    fellow; 
weighs  about  two  hundred  and  forty  pounds;  he  drinks  hard; 
he  is   just  like  a  rattlesnake,  and  so  cross  and  crabbed  when 
he  speaks,  seems  like  he  could  go  through  you.     He  flogged 
a   slave   called  ilichmond   for  not  plowing  the    corn  good. 
That  was  what  he  pretended  to  whip  him  for.     Kichmond  ran 
away — was  #one  four  months,  as  nigh  as  I  can  guess.     Then 
they  caught  him,  then  struck  him  a  hundred  lashes,  and  then 
they  split  both  feet  to  the  bone,  and  split  both  his  insteps, 
and  then  master  took  his  knife  and  stuck  it  into  him  in  many 
places.     After  he  had  done  him  in  that  way,  he  put  him  in 
the  barn  to  shucking  corn.     For  a  long  time  he  was  not  able 
to  work.     When  he  did  partly  recover,  he  was  set  to  work 
again. 


When  I  was  in  the  woods  I  lived  on  nothing,  you  may  say 
and  yet  something  too.  I  had  bread  and  roasting  ears,  and 
potatoes.  I  stayed  in  the  hollow  of  a  big  tree  for  seven 
months.  The  other  part  of  the  time  I  stayed  in  a  cave.  I 
suffered  mighty  bad  with  the  cold,  and  for  the  want  of  some- 
thing to  eat.  Once  I  got  me  some  charcoal  and  made  me  a 
fire  in  my  tree  to  warm  myself,  and  it  liked  to  have  killed  me. 
So  I  had  to  take  the  fire- out.  One  time  a  snake  came  and 
poked  its  head  in  the  hollow  and  was  coming  in,  and  I  took 
my  axe  and  chopped  him  in  two.  It  was  a  poplar-leaf  mocca- 
sin, the  poisonest  kind  of  a  snake  we  have.  While  in  the 
woods,  all  of  my  thoughts  were  how  to  get  away  to  a  free 
country. 

Subsequently,  in  going  back  over  his  past  history,  he 
referred  to  the  fact  that  on,  an  occasion  long  before  the  cave 
and  tree  existence  already  noticed,  when  suffering  under  this 
brutal  master,  he  sought  protection  in  the  woods  and  abode 
twenty-seven  months  in  a  cave,  before  lie  surrendered  him- 
self or  was  captured.  His  offense,  in  this  instance,  was 
simply  because  he  desired  to  see  his  wife,  and  stole  away 
from  his  master's  plantation,  and  went  a  distance  of  five 
miles  to  where  she  lived  to  see  her.  For  this  grave  crime, 
his  master  threatened  to  give  him  a  hundred  lashes  and  to 
shoot  him.  In  order  to  avoid  this  punishment  he  escaped 
to  the  woods.  The  lapse  of  a  dozen  years  and  recent  strug- 
gles for  existence,  made  him  think  lightly  of  his  former 
troubles,  and  he  would  doubtless  have  failed  to  recall  his 
earlier  conflicts.  He  was  asked  if  he  had  a  family.  "  Yes,  sir," 
he  answered.  "  I  had  a  wife  and  eight  children,  belonging  to 
the  widow  Slade.  Harry  gave  the  names  of  his  wife  and 
children:  wife  named  Susan,  children  named  Olive,  Sabey, 
Washington,  Daniel,  Jonas,  Harriet,  Moses,  Kosetta;  the 
last-named  he  had  never  seen.  Between  my  mistress  and 
my  master  there  was  not  much  difference. 


STORY  OF  GEORGE  LAWS,  OF  DELAWARE. 

George  represented  the  ordinary  young  slave-men  of  Del- 
aware. He  was  of  unmixed  blood,  medium  size  and  of  humble 
appearance.  He  was  destitute  of  the  knowledge  of  spelling, 
to  say  nothing  of  reading.  Slavery  had  stamped  him  unmis- 
takably for  life,  to  be  scantily  fed  and  clothed,  and  compelled 
to  work  without  hire.  George  did  not  admire  that,  but  had  to 
submit  without  murmuring.  Indeed,  he  knew  that  his  so, 
called  master,  whose  name  was  Denny,  would  not  be  likely 
to  heed  complaints  from  a  slave.  He,  therefore,  dragged  his 
chains,  and  yielded  to  his  daily  task. 

One  day,  while  hauling  dirt  with  a  fractious  horse,  the 
animal  manifested  an  unwillingness  to  perform  his  duty  sat- 
isfactorily. At  this  procedure,  the  master  charged  George 
with  provoking  the  beast  to  do  wickedly,  and  in  a  rage  he 
collared  George,  and  bade  him  accompany  him  up  the  stairs 
of  the  soap-house.  Not  daring  to  resist,  George  went  along 
with  hhn.  Ropes  being  tied  around  both  his  wrists,  the 
block  and  tackle  were  fastened  thereto,  and  George  soon 
found  himself  hoisted  on  tiptoe,  with  his  feet  almost  clear  of 
the  floor.  The  kind-hearted  master  then  tore  all  the  poor 
fellow's  old  shirt  off  his  back,  and  addressed  him  thus. 

"  You  son  of  a  b h,   I.  will  give  you  pouting  around  me. 

Stay  there,  till  I  go  up  town  for  my  cowhide."  George 
begged  piteously,  but  in  vain.  The  fracas  caused  some 
excitement,  and  it  so  happened  that  a  show  was  exhibited 
that  day  in  the  town,  which,  as  is  usual  in  the  country, 
brought  a  great  many  people  from  a  distance.  So,  to  his 
surprise,  when  the  master  returned  with  his  cowhide,  he 
found  that  a  large  number  of  curiosity-seekers  had  been 
attracted  to  the  soap-house  to  see  Mr.  Denny  perform  with 
his  cowhide  on  George's  back,  as  he  was  stretched  up  by  his 
hands.  Many  had  evidently  made  up  their  minds  that  it 
would  be  more  amusing  to  see  the  cowhiding  than  the 
circus.  The  spectators  numbered  about  three  hundred. 
This  was  a  larger  number  than  Mr.  Denny  had  been  accus- 
tomed to  perform  before,  consequently  he  was  seized  with 


(     77     ) 

embarrassment.  Looking  confused,  he  left  the  soap-house, 
and  went  to  his  office,  to  await  the  dispersion  of  the  crowd. 
The  throng  finally  retired,  and  left  George  hanging  in  mortal 
agony.  Human  nature  here  made  a  death-struggle.  The 
cords  which  bound  his  wrists  were  unloosed,  and  George 
was  then  prepared  to  strike  for  freedom,  at  the  mouth  of  the 
cannon  or  at  the  point  of  the  bayonet.  How  Denny  regarded 
the  matter,  when  he  found  that  George  had  not  only  cheated 
him  out  of  the  anticipated  delight  of  cowhiding  him,  but 
had  also  cheated  him  out  of  himself,  is  left  for  the  imagina- 
tion to  picture. 


PETER  MATHEWS,  ALIAS  SAMUEL  SPARROW. 

Up  to  the  age  of  thirty-five,  Pete  had  worn  the  yoke  stead- 
ily if  not  patiently,  under  William  S.  Mathews,  of  Oak  Hall^ 
near  Temperanceville,  in  the  State  of  Virginia.  Pete  said 
that  his  master  was  not  a  hard  man,  but  the  man  to  whom  he 
was  hired,  George  Mathews,  was  a  very  cruel  man.  "I 
might  as  well  be  in  the  penitentiary  as  in  his  hands,"  was 
his  declaration  one  day.  A  short  while  before,  Pete  took  out 
an  ox  which  had  broke  into  the  truck-patch,  and  helped  himself 
to  choice  delicacies  to  the  full  extent  of  his  capacious  stomach, 
making  sad  havoc  with  the  vegetables  generally.  Peter's  at- 
tention being  directed  to  the  ox,  he  turned  him  out,|and  gave 
him  what  he  considered  proper  chastisement.  According 
to  the  mischief  done  at  this  liberty  taken  by  Pete,  the  mas- 
ter became  furious.  He  got  his  gun  and  threatened  to  shoot 
him.  "Open  your  mouth,  if  you  dare,  and  I  will  put  the 
whole  lead  in  you,"  said  the  enraged  master.  "He  took  out 
a  large  dirk-knife,  and  attempted  to  stab  me,  but  I  kept  out 
of  his  way,"  said  Pete.  Nevertheless,  the  violence  of  the 
master  did  not  abate  until  he  had  beaten  Pete  over  the  head 
and  body  till  he  was  very  weary  with  inflicting  severe  injuries. 
A  great  change  was  at  once  wrought  in  Pete's  mind.  He 
was  now  ready  to  adopt  any  plan  that  might  hold  out  the 


(     "8     ) 

least  encouragement  to  escape.  Having  capital  to  the  amount 
of  four  dollars  only,  he  felt  that  he  could  not  do  much  to- 
wards employing  a  conductor,  but  he  had  a  good  pair  of  legs 
and  a  heart  stout  enough  to  whip  two  or  three  slave-catchers, 
with  the  help  of  a  pistol .  Happening  to  know  who  had  a 
pistol  for  sale,  he  went  to  him  and  told  him  that  he  wished 
to  purchase  it  for  one  dollar.  The  pistol  became  Peter's  pro- 
perty. He  had  but  three  dollars  left,  but  he  was  determined 
to  make  that  amount  answer  his  purposes,  under  the  circum- 
stances. The  last  cruel  beating  maddened  him  almost  to 
desperation,  especially  when  he  remembered  how  he  had 
been  compelled  to  work  hard,. night  and  day,  under  Mathews. 
Then,  too,  Peter  had  a  wife,  whom  his  master  prevented  him 
from  visiting.  This  was  not  among  the  least  offenses  with 
which  Pete  charged  his  master.  Fully  bent  on  leaving,  the 
following  Sunday  was  fixed  by  him  on  which  to  commence 
his  journey. 

The  time  arrived  and  Pete  bade  farewell  to  slavery,  re- 
solved to  follow  the  North  Star,  with  his  pistol  in  hand, 
ready  for  action,  After  traveling  about  two  hundred  miles 
from  home,  he  unexpectedly  had  an  opportunity  of  using  his 
pistol.  To  his  astonishment,  he  suddenly  came  face  to  face 
with  a  former  master,  whom  he  had  not  seen  for  a  long  time. 
Peter  desired  no  friendly  intercourse  with  him  whatever,  but 
he  perceived  that  his  old  master  recognized  him,  and  was 
bent  on  stopping  him.  Pete  held  onto  his  pistol,  but  moved 
as  fast  as  his  wearied  limbs  would  allow  him,  in  an  opposite 
direction.  As  he  was  running,  Pete  cautiously  cast  his  eye 
over  his  shoulder,  to  see  what  had  become  of  his  old  master, 
when,  to  his  amazement,  he  found  that  a  regular  chase  was 
being  made  after  him.  The  necessity  of  redoubling  his  pace 
was  quite  obvious  in  this  hour  of  peril.  Pete's  legs  saved 
him.  After  this  signal  leg-victory,  Pete  had  more  confidence 
in  his  understanding  than  he  had  in  his  old  pistol,  although 
he  held  on  to  it  until  he  reached  Philadelphia,  where  he  left 
it  in  possession  of  the  secretary  of  the  Committee  of  the 
Underground  Railroad.  Pete  was  christened  Samuel  Spar- 
row. Mr.  Sparrow  had  the  rust  of  slavery  washed  off  as 
clean  as  possible,  and  the  Committee,  furnishing  him  with 
clean  clothes,  a  ticket  and  a  letter  of  introduction,  started 
him  on  to  Canada,  looking  quite  respectable.  The  unpleas- 


(     79     ) 

antness  which   grew  out  of  the  mischief  done  by  the   ox   on 
George  Mathews'  farm,  took  place  the  first  of  October,  1833. 


STORY    OF    LEAH   GREEN. 

Leah  Green,  so  particularly  advertised  in  the  Baltimore 
Sun  by  James  Noble,  won  for  herself  a  strong  claim  to  a  high 
place  among  the  heroic  women  of  the  nineteenth  century. 
In  regard  to  description  and  age  the  advertisement  is  tolera- 
bly accurate,  although  her  master  might  have  added  that  her 
countenance  was  one  of  peculiar  modesty  and  grace,  instead 
of  saying  she  was  of  a  dark  brown  color.  Of  her  bondage, 
she  made  the  following  statement:  She  was  owned  by  James 
Noble,  a  butter  dealer  of  Baltimore.  He  fell  heir  to  Leah 
by  the  will  of  his  wife's  mother,  Mrs.  Rachel  Howard,  by 
whom  she  had  been  previously  owned.  Leah  was  but  a  mere 
child  when  she  came  into  the  hands  of  Noble's  family.  She, 
therefore,  remembered  but  little  of  her  old  mistress.  Her 
young  mistress,  however,  had  made  a  lasting  impression  on 
her  mind,  for  she  was  very  exacting  and  oppressive  in  regard 
to  the  tasks  she  was  daily  in  the  habit  of  laying  on  Leah's 
shoulders,  with  no  disposition  whatever  to  allow  her  any  lib- 
erties. At  least,  Leah  was  never  indulged  in  this  respect. 
In  this  situation  a  young  man  by  the  name  of  William  Ad- 
ams proposed  marriage  to  her.  This  ofter  she  was  inclined 
to  accept,  but  disliked  the  idea  of  being  encumbered  with 
the  chains  of  slavery  and  the  duties  of  a  family  at  the  same 
time.  After  a  full  consultation  with  her  mother,  and  also 
her  intended,  upon  the  matter,  she  decided  that  she  must  be 
free,  in  order  to  fill  the  station  of  a  wife  and  mother.  For  a 
time  dangers  and  difficulties  in  the  way  of  escape  seemed 
utterly  to  set  at  defiance  all  hope  of  success.  Whilst  every 
pulse  was  beating  strong  for  liberty,  only  one  chance  seemed 
to  be  left.  The  trial  required  as  much  courage  as  it  would 
to  endure  the  cutting  off  of  the  right  arm  or  plucking  out 
the  right  eye.  An  old  chest  of  suostantial  make,  such  as 


(     80     ) 

sailors  commonly  use,  was  procured.  A  quilt,  a  pillow,  and 
a  few  articles  ot  raiment,  together  with  a  small  quantity  of 
food  and  a  bottle  of  water  were  put  in  it,  and  Leah  placed 
therein.  Strong  ropes  were  fastened  around  the  chest,  and 
she  was  safely  stowed  amongst  the  ordinary  freight,  on  one 
of  the  Erricsou  line  of  steamers.  Her  interested  mother, 
who  was  a  free  woman,  agreed  to  come  as  a  passenger  on  the 
same  boat.  How  could  she  refuse?  The  prescribed  rules  of 
the  Company  assigned  colored  passengers  to  the  deck.  In  this 
instance  it  was  exactly  where  this  guardian  and  mother  de- 
sired to  be — as  near  the  chest  as  possible.  Once  or  twice, 
during  the  silent  watches  of  the  night,  she  was  drawn  irre- 
sistibly to  the  chest,  and  could  not  refrain  from  venturing  to 
untie  the  rope  and  raise  the  lid  a  little,  to  see  if  the  poor 
child  lived,  and,  at  the  same  time,  to  give  her  a  breath  of 
fresh  air.  Without  uttering  a  whisper  at  that  frightful  mo- 
ment, this  office  was  successfully  performed.  That  the  silent 
pravers  of  this  oppressed  young  woman,  together  with  her 
faithful  protector,  were  momentarily  ascending  to  the  ear  of 
the  good  God  above,  there  can  be  no  doubt.  Nor  is  it  to  be 
doubted  for  a  moment  but  that  some  ministering  angel  aid- 
ed the  mother  to  unfasten  the  rope,  and,  at  the  same  time, 
nerved  the  heart  of  poor  Leah  to  endure  the  trying  ordeal  of 
her  perilous  situation.  She  declared  that  she  had  no  fear 
after  she  had  passed  eighteen  hours  in  the  chest.  The 
steamer  arrived  at  the  wharf  in  Philadelphia,  and,  in  due 
time,  the  living  freight  was  brought  off  the  boat,  and  at  first 
was  delivered  at  a  house  in  Barley  street,  occupied  oy  par- 
ticular friends  of  the  mother.  Subsequently,  chest  and 
freight  were  removed  to  the  residence  of  a  friend  in  whose 
family  she  remained  several  days,  under  the  protection  and 
care  of  the  vigilance  committee. 

Such  hungering  and  thirsting  for  liberty  as  was  evinced 
by  Leah  Green,  made  the  efforts  of  the  most  ardent,  who  were 
in  the  habit  of  aiding  fugitives,  seem  feeble  in  the  extreme. 
Of  all  the  heroes  in  Canada,  or  out  of  it,  who  have  purchased 
their  liberty  by  downright  bravery,  through  perils  the  most 
hazardous,  none  deserve  more  praise  than  Leah  Green. 

She  remained  for  a  time  in  this  family  and  was  then  for- 
warded to  Elmira.  In  this  place  she  was  married  to  William 
Adams,  who  has  been  previously  alluded  to.  They  never 


(    81    ) 

went  to  Canada,  but  took  up  their  permanent  abode  in  El- 
mira.  The  brief  space  of  about  three  years  only  was  allotted 
her  in  which  to  enjoy  her  freedom,  at  death  came  and  ter- 
minated her  career.  The  impressions  made  by  both  mother 
and  daughter  can  never  be  effaced.  The  chest  in  which 
Leah  escaped  has  been  preserved  by  the  writer,  as  a  rare 
trophy,  and  her  photograph,  taken  while  in  the  chest,  is  an 
excellent  likeness  of  her,  and,  at  the  same  time,  a  fitting 
memorial. 


LIBERTY;  OR  JIM  BOW-LEGS. 

In  1855  a  trader  arrived  with  the  above  name,  who,  on  ex- 
amination, was  found  to  possess  very  extraordinary  charac- 
teristics. As  a  hero  and  adventurer,  some  passages  of  his  his- 
tory were  most  remarkable.  His  schooling  had  been  such 
as  could  only  be  gathered  on  plantations  under  brutal  over- 
seers, or  while  fleeing,  or  in  swamps,  in  prisons,  or  on  the 
auction-block,  in  which  conditions  he  was  often  found.  Nev- 
ertheless, in  these  circumstances,  his  mind  got  well-stored 
with  vigorous  thoughts,  neither  books  nor  friendly  advisers 
being  at  his  command,  yet  his  native  intelligence,  as  it  re- 
garded human  nature,  was  extraordinary.  His  resolution 
and  perseverance  never  faltered.  In  all  respects  he  was  a 
remarkable  man.  He  was  a  young  man,  weighing  about  180 
pounds,  of  uncommon  muscular  strength.  He  was  born  in 
the  State  of  Georgia,  Oglothorpe  county,  and  was  owned  by 
Dr.  Thomas  Stephens,  of  Lexington.  On  reaching  the  vigi- 
lance committee  in  Philadalphia,  his  story  was  told,  many 
times  over,  to  one  and  another.  Taking  all  of  the  facts  into 
consideration  respecting  the  courageous  career  of  this  suc- 
cessful adventurer  for  freedom,  his  case  is  by  far  more  inter- 
esting than  any  that  I  have  yet  referred  to.  Indeed,  for  the 
good  of  the  cause,  and  the  honor  of  one  who  gained  his  lib- 
erty by  periling  his  life  so  frequently,  being  shot  several 
10 


(     82    ) 

times,  making  six  unsuccessful  attempts  to  escape  from  the 
South,  numberless  times  chased  by  bloodhounds,  captured, 
sold  and  imprisoned  repeatedly,  living  for  months  in  the 
woods,  swamps  and  caves,  subsisting  mainly  on  parched 
corn  and  berries.  His  narrative  'ought,  by  all  means,  to  be 
published,  though  I  doubt  very  much  whether  many  could 
be  found  who  could  persuade  themselves  to  believe  one-tenth 
part  of  this  story. 

His  master,  finding  him  not  available  on  account  of  his 
absconding  propensities,  would  gladly  have  offered  him  for 
sale.  He  was  once  taken  to  Florida  for  that  purpose,  but, 
generally,  traders  being  wide  awake,  on  inspecting  him, 
would  almost  invariably  pronounce  him  a  damn  rascal,  be- 
cause he  would  never  fail  to  eye  them  sternly  as  they  in- 
spected him.  The  obedient  and  submissive  slave  is  always 
recognized  by  hanging  his  head,  and  looking  on  the  ground 
when  looked  at  by  a  slaveholder.  This  lesson  Jim  Hall  ne- 
ver learned.  Hence  he  was  not  trusted.  His  head  and 
chest,  and,  indeed,  his  entire  structure,  as  solid  as  a  rock, 
indicated  that  physically  he  was  no  ordinary  man,  and  not 
being  under  the  influence  of  non-resistance,  he  had  occasion- 
ally been  found  to  be  rather  a  formidable  customer.  His 
father  was  a  lull-blooded  Indian,  brother  to  the  noted  Chief 
Billy  Bow-Legs.  His  mother  was  quite  black,  and  of  un- 
mixed blood.  For  five  or  six  years,  the  greater  part  of  Jim's 
time  was  occupied  in  trying  to  escape,  and  being  in  prison 
for  sale,  to  punish  him  for  running  away. 

His  mechanical  genius  was  excellent,  so  was  his  geograph- 
ical abilities.  He  could  make  shoes,  or  do  carpenter  work 
handily,  though  he  had  never  had  the  chance  to  learn.  As 
to  traveling  by  night  or  day,  he  was  always  road-ready,  and 
having  an  uncommon  memory,  could  give  exceedingly  good 
accounts  of  what  he  saw.  When  he  entered  a  swamp,  and 
had  occasion  to  take  a  nap,  he  took  care,  first,  to  decide  upon 
the  posture  he  must  take,  so  that  if  come  upon  unexpectedly 
by  the  hounds  and  slave-hunters,  he  might  know,  in  an  in- 
stant, which  way  to  steer  to  defeat  them.  He  always  car- 
ried a  liquid,  which  he  had  prepared,  to  prevent  hounds 
from  scenting  him,  which  he  said  had  never  failed  him.  As 
soon  as  the  hounds  came  to  the  spot  where  he  had  rubbed 
his  legs  and  feet  with  said  liquid,  they  could  follow  him 


(    83    ) 

no  further,  but  bowled  and  turned  immediately.  A  large 
number  of  friends  of  the  slave  saw  this  man,  and  would  sit 
1  ong,  and  listen  with  the  most  undivided  attention  to  his 
narrative,  none  doubting  for  a  moment  its  entire  truthful- 
ness. Strange  as  his  story  was,  there  was  so  much  natural 
simplicity  in  his  manners  and  countenance,  one  could  not 
refrain  from  believing  him. 


ABRAM  JGALOWAY  AND  RICHARD  EASLER. 

The  Philadelphia  branch  of  the  U.  G.  R.  R.  was  not  for- 
tunate in  having  very  frequent  arrivals  from  North  Carolina, 
for  such  of  her  slaves  that  were  sensible  enough  to  travel 
north,  found  out  nearer  and  safer  routes  than  through  Penn- 
sylvania. Nevertheless,  the  vigilance  committee  had  the 
pleasure  of  receiving  some  heroes  who  were  worthy  to  be 
classed  among  the  bravest  of  the  brave.  No  matter  who 
they  may  be  who  have  claims  to  this  distinction,  in  proof  of 
this  bold  assertion,  the  two  individuals  whose  names  stand 
at  the  beginning  of  this  article  are  presented.  Abr  «m  was 
onlj  twenty-one  years  of  age,  mulatto,  five  feet  six  inches  in 
height,  intelligent,  and  a  perfect  picture  of  good  health. 
"What  was  your  master's  name?"  "Milton  Hawkins," 
answered  Abram.  "What  business  did  he  follow  ?"  "He 
was  chief  engineer  on  the  Wilmington  Railroad  ;  not  a 
branch  of  the  U.  G.  R.  R.,''  responded  Abram.  "  Describe 
him,"  said  the  members.  "He  was  a  slim-built  tall  man, 
with  whiskers  ;  he  was  a  man  of  very  good  disposition.  I 
always  belonged  to  him.  He  owned  three  slaves.  He  always 
said  that  he  would  sell  before  he  would  use  a  whip.  His 
wife  was  a  very  mean  woman.  She  would  whip,  contrary  to 
his  orders."  "  Who  was  your  father  ?"  was  further  inquired. 
"  John  W.  Galoway."  "  Describe  your  father."  "He  was 
Captain  of  a  government  vessel."  He  recognized  me  as  his 
son,  and  protected  me  as  far  as  he  was  allowed  so  to  do.  He 


(     84     ) 

lived  at  Smithfield,  North  Carolina.  Abram's  master,  Milton 
Hawkins,  lived  at  Wilmington,  N.  C."  "  What  prompted 
you  to  escape?"  \vasnext  asked.  "  Because  times  were  hard, 
and  I  could  not  come  up  with  my  wages  as  I  was  required 
to  do.  So  I  thought  I  would  try  and.  do  better."  At  this 
juncture  Abram  explained  in  what  sense  times  were  hard. 
In  the  first  place,  he  was  not  allowed  to  own  himself  ;  he  how- 
ever prospered,  hiring  his  time  to  serving  in  the  usual  way. 
This  favor  was  granted  Abram,  but  he  was  compelled  to  pay 
$15  per  month  for  his  time,  besides  finding  himself  in 
clothing,  food,  paying  doctor's  bill,  and  per  year  head-tax. 

Even  under  this  master,  who  was  a  man  of  very  good  dis- 
position, Abram  was  not  contented.  In  the  second  place, 
he  always  thought  slavery  was  wrong,  although  he  had  never 
suffered  any  personal  abuse — toiling  month  after  month,  the 
year  round,  for  the  support  of  his  master  and  not  himself, 
was  the  one  intolerable  thought. 

Abram  and  Richard  were  intimate  friends,  and  lived  near 
each  other  ;  being  similarly  situated  they  could  venture  to 
communicate  the  secret  feelings  of  their  hearts  to  each 
other.  Richard  was  four  years  older  than  Abram,  with  not 
so  much  Anglo-Saxon  blood  in  his  veins,  but  was  equally  as 
intelligent,  and  was,  by  trade,  a  fashionable  barber,  well 
known  to  the  ladies  and  gentlemen  of  Wilmington  Richard 
owed  service  to  Mrs.  Mary  Learen,  a  widow  ;  she  was  very 
kind  and  tender  to  all  of  her  slaves.  "  If  I  was  sick,"  said 
Richard,  "she  would  treat  me  the  same  that  my  mother 
would.  She  was  the  owner  of  twenty  men,  women  and  chil- 
dren, who  were  all  hired  out,  except  the  children,  too  young 
for  hire.  Besides  having  his  food,  clothing  and  doctor's  ex- 
penses to  meet,  he  had  to  pay  the  very  kind  widow  $12.50 
per  month,  and  head-tax  to  the  State  of  25  cts.  per  month. 
It  so  happened  that  Richard,  at  this  time,  was  involved  in  a 
matrimonial  affair.  Contary  to  the  laws  of  North  Carolina, 
he  had  lately  married  a  free  girl,  which  was  an  indictable 
offense,  and  for  which  the  penalty  was  then  in  soak  for  him, 
said  penalty  to  consist  of  thirty -nine  lashes,  and  imprison- 
ment at  the  discretion  of  th^  judge. 

So  Abram  and  Richard  put  their  heads  together  and  re- 
solved to  try  the  U.  G.  R.  R.  They  concluded  that  liberty 
was  worth  dying  for,  and  that  it  was  their  duty  to  strike  for 


(    85    ) 

freedom,  even  if  it  should  cost  their  lives.  The  next  thing 
needed  was  information  about  the  U.  G.  R.  R.  Before  a 
great  while  the  captain  of  a  schooner  turned  up  from  Wil- 
mington, Delaware.  Learning  that  his  voyage  extended  to 
Philadelphia,  they  sought  to  find  out  whether  this  captain  was 
true  to  freedom.  To  ascertain  this  fact  required  no 
little  address.  It  had  to  be  done  in  such  a  way  that  even  the 
captain  would  not  really  understand  what  they  were  up  to. 
Should  he  be  found  untrue  in  this  instance,  however,  he  was 
the  right  man  in  the  right  place,  and  very  well  understood 
his  business.  Abram  and  Richard  made  arrangements  with 
him  to  bring  them  away.  They  learned  when  the  vessel 
would  start,  and  that  she  was  loaded  with  tar,  rosin  and 
spirits  of  turpentine,  amongst  which  the  captain  was  to  se- 
crete them.  But  here  came  the  difficulty.  In  order  that 
slaves  might  not  be  secreted  in  vessels  the  slave-holders  of 
North  Carolina  had  procured  the  enactment  of  a  law  re- 
quiring all  vessels  coming  north  to  be  smoked.  To  escape 
this  dilemma,  the  inventive  genius  of  Abram  and  Richard 
soon  devised  a  safeguard  against  the  smoke.  This  safeguard 
consisted  in  silk  oil-cloth  shrouds,  made  large,  with  drawing 
strings,  which,  when  pulled  over  their  heads,  might  be  drawn 
very  tightly  around  their  waists.  Whilst  the  process  of 
smoking  might  be  in  operation,  a  bladder  of  water  and 
towels  were  provided — the  latter  to  be  wet  and  held  to  their 
nostrils  should  there  be  need.  In  this  manner  they  had  de- 
termined to  struggle  against  death  for  liberty 

The  hour  approached  for  being  at  the  wharf.  At  the  appoint- 
ed time,  they  were  on  hand,  ready  to  go  on  the  boat.  The 
captain  secreted  them  according  to  agreement.  They  were 
ready  to  run  the  risk  of  being  smoked  to  death  ;  but,  as  good 
luck  would  have  it,  the  law  was  not  carried  into  effect  in  this 
instance,  so  that  the  smell  of  the  smoke  was  not  upon  them. 
The  effect  of  the  turpentine,  however,  of  the  nature  of  which 
they  were  totally  ignorant,  was  worse,  if  possible,  than  the 
smoke  would  have  been;  the  blood  was  literally  drawn  from 
them  at  every  pore,  in  frightful  quantities  ;  but  as  heroes  of 
the  bravest  type,  they  resolved  to  continue  steadfast  as  long 
as  a  pulse  continued  to  beat,  and  thus  they  finally  conquered. 

The  invigorating  northern  air  and  the  kind  treatment  of 
the  Vigilance  Committee,  acted  like  a  charm  upon  them,  and 


(    86    ) 

they  improved  very  rapidly  from  their  exhaustive  and  heavy 
loss  of  blood.  Desiring  to  retain  some  memorial  of  them, 
a  member  of  the  committee  begged  one  of  their  silk  shrouds, 
and  likewise  procured  an  artist  to  take  the  photograph  of  one 
of  them,  which  keepsake  has  been  valued  very  highly.  In 
the  regular  order,  the  wants  of  Abram'and  Richard  were  duly 
met  by  the  committee,  financially  and  otherwise,  and  they 
were  forwarded  to  Canada. 


TWO    FEMALES    FROM    MAEYLAND— ANN  JOHN- 
SON AND  LAVINA  WOOLFLEY. 

As  the  way  of  travel  by  the  U.  G.  R.R.,  under  the  most 
favorable  circumstances,  even  for  the  sterner  sex,  was  hard 
enough  to  test  the  strongest  nerves  and  to  try  the  faith  of 
the  bravest  of  the  brave,  every  woman  that  won  her  freedom 
by  this  perilous  undertaking  deserves  commemoration.  It 
is,  therefore,  a  pleasure  to  thus  transfer  from  the  Old  Rec- 
ord Book  the  names  of  Ann  Johnson  and  Lavina  Woolfley, 
who  fled  from  Maryland  in  1857.  Their  lives,  however,  had 
not  been  in  any  way  very  remarkable.  Ann  was  tall,  and  of 
a  dark  chestnut  color,  with  an  intelligent  countenance,  and 
about  twenty-four  years  of  age.  She  had  filled  various  situa- 
tions as  a  slave .  Sometimes  she  was  required  to  serve  in  the 
kitchen,  at  other  times  she  was  required  to  toil  in  the  field 
with  the  plow,  hoe,  and  the  like. 

Samuel  Harrington,  of  Cambridge  District,  Maryland, 
was  the  name  of  the  man  for  whose  benefit  Ann  labored  dur- 
ing her  young  days.  She  had  no  hesitation  in  saying  that 
he  was  a  very  ill-natured  man.  He,  however,  was  a  member 
of  the  old-time  Methodist  Church.  In  slave  property  he 
had  invested  only  to  the  extent  of  five  or  six  head.  About 
three  years  previous  to  Ann's  escape,  one  of  her  brother's 
fled,  and  went  to  Canada.  This  circumstance  so  enraged  the 
owner,  that  he  declared  he  would  sell  all  he  owned.  Accord- 


(    87     ) 

iiigly,  Aim  was  soon  put  on  the  auction-block,  and  was 
bought  by  a  man  who  went  by  the  name  of  William  Moore. 
Moore  was  a  married  man,  who,  with  his  wife,  was  addicted 
to  intemperance  and  carousing.  Ann  found  that  she  had 
simply  got  out  of  the  fire  into  the  frying-pan.  She  was  really 
at  a  loss  to  tell  when  her  lot  was  the  hardest,  whether  under 
the  rum-drinker  or  the  old-time  Methodist.  In  this  state  of 
mind,  she  decided  to  leave  all  and  go  to  Canada,  the  refuge 
for  the  fleeing  bondman.  Lavina,  Ann's  companion,  was  the 
wife  of  James  Woolfley ;  she  and  her  husband  set  out  together 
with  six  others,  and  were  of  the  party  of  eight  who  were 
betrayed  into  Dover  Jail,  and,  after  fighting  their  way  out  of 
the  jail,  they  separated,  for  prudential  reasons.  The  hus- 
band of  Lavina,  immediately  after  the  conflict  at  the  jail, 
parsed  on  to  Canada,  leaving  his  wife  under  the  protection 
of  friends.  Since  that  time  several  months  had  elapsed,  but 
of  each  other  nothing  had  been  known,  before  she  received 
information  on  her  arrival  at  Philadelphia.  The  committee 
were  glad  to  inform  her  that  her  husband  had  safely  passed 
on  to  Canada,  and  that  she  would  be  aided  on  also,  where 
they  could  enjoy  freedom  in  a  free  country. 


WILLIAM  AND  ELLEN  CRAFT. 

A  quarter  of  a  century  ago,  William  and  Ellen  Craft  were 
slaves  in  the  State  of  Georgia.  With  them,  as  with  thous- 
ands of  others,  the  desire  to  be  free  was  very  strong,  '  For 
this  jewel  they  were  willing  to  make  any  sacrifice,  or  to 
endure  any  amount  of  suffering.  In  this  state  of  mind  they 
commenced  planning.  After  thinking  of  various  ways  that 
might  be  tried,  it  occurred  to  William  and  Ellen  that  one 
might  act  the  part  of  master  and  the  other  the  part  of 
servant.  Ellen  being  very  fair,  enough  so  to  pass  for  white, 
of  necessity  would  have  to  be  transformed  into  a  young 
planter  for  the  time  bein^.  All  that  was  needed,  however, 


(     88    ) 

to  make  this  important  change  was,  that  she  should  be 
dressed  elegantly  in  a  fashionable  suit  of  male  attire,  and 
have  her  hair  cut  in  the  style  usually  worn  by  young  planters. 
Her  profusion  of  dark  hair  offered  a  fine  opportunity  for 
the  change.  So  far,  this  plan  looked  very  tempting,  but  it 
occurred  to  them  that  Ellen  was  beardless.  After  some 
mature  reflection,  they  came  to  the  conclusion  that  this  diffi- 
culty could  be  very  readily  obviated  by  having  the  face 
muffied  up,  as  though  the  young  planter  was  suffering  badly 
with  the  face  or  toothache.  Thus  they  got  rid  of  this 
trouble  straightway.  Upon  further  reflection,  several  other 
serious  difficulties  stared  them  in  the  face.  For  instance,  in 
traveling  they  knew  that  they  would  be  under  the  necessity 
of  stopping  repeatedly  at  hotels,  and  that  the  custom  of 
registering  would  have  to  be  conformed  to,  unless  some  very 
good  excuse  could  be  given  for  not  doing  so.  Here  they 
again  thought  much  over  the  matter,  and  wisely  concluded 
that  the  young  man  had  better  assume  the  attitude  of  a 
gentleman  very  much  indisposed.  He  must  have  his  right 
arm  placed  carefully  in  a  sling;  that  would  be  sufficient 
excuse  for  not  registering;  then  he  must  be  a  little  lame, 
with  a  nice  cane  in  his  left  hand.  He  must  have  large  green 
spectacles  over  his  eyes,  and  withal  he  must  be  very  hard  of 
hearing,  and  dependent  on  his  faithful  servant,  as  was  no 
uncommon  thing  with  slaveholders.  To  look  after  all  his 
wants,  William  was  just  the  man  to  act  his  part.  To  begin 
with,  he  was  very  likely  looking,  smart,  active,  and  exceed- 
ingly attentive  to  his  young  master.  Indeed,  he  was  almost 
eyes,  ears,  hands  and  feet  for  him.  William  knew  that  this 
would  please  the  slaveholders.  The  young  planter  would 
have  nothing  to  do  but  hold  himself  subject  to  his  ailments, 
and  put  on  a  bold  superiority.  He  was  not  to  deign  to 
notice  anybody.  If,  while  traveling,  gentlemen,  either 
politely  or  rudely,  should  venture  to  scrape  acquaintance 
with  the  young  planter,  in  his  deafness  he  was  to  remain 
mute.  The  servant  was  to  explain,  in  every  instance,  when 
this  occurred,  as  it  actually  did. 

The  servant  was  equal  to  the  emergency,  none  dreaming  of 
the  disguise  in  which  the  underground  railroad  passengers 
were  traveling.  They  stopped  at  a  first  class  hotel  in  Charles- 
ton, where  the  young  planter  and  his  body-servant  were  treat- 


(     89     ) 

ed  as  the  house  was  wont  to  treat  the  chivalry.  They  stopped 
at  a  similar  hotel  in  Kichmond,  and  with  like  results.  They 
knew  that  they  must  pass  through  Baltimore,  but  they  did 
not  know  the  obstacles  that  they  would  have  to  surmount  in 
the  Monumental  City.  They  proceeded  to  the  depot  in  the 
usual  manner,  and:  the  servant  asked  for  tickets  for  his  mas- 
ter and  self.  Of  course  the  master  could  have  a  ticket,  ' '  but 
bonds  will  have  to  be  entered  before  you  can  get  a  ticket," 
said  the  ticket-master;  "It  is  the  rule  of  this  office  to  re- 
quire bonds  for  all  negroes  applying  for  tickets  to  go  North, 
and  none  but  gentlemen  of  well-known  responsibility  will  be 
taken,"  further  explained  the  ticket-master.  The  servant  re- 
plied that  he  knew  nothing  about  that ;  that  he  was  simply 
traveling  with  his  young  master  to  take  care  of  him,  ho  being 
in  a  very  delicate  state  of  health,  so  much  so  that  fears  were 
entertained  that  he  might  not  be  able  to  hold  out  to  reach 
Philadelphia,  where  he  was  hastening  for  medical  treatment, 
and  ended  his  reply  by  saying,  "My  master  can't  be  de- 
tained "  Without  further  parley,  the  ticket-master  very 
obligingly  waived  the  old  rule,  and  furnished  the  requisite 
tickets.  The  mountain  being  thus  removed,  the  young  plan- 
ter and  his  faithful  servant  were  safely  in  the  cars  for  the 
City  of  Brotherly  Love.  Scarcely  had  they  arrived  on  free 
soil,  when  the  rheumatism  departed,  the  right  arm  was  un- 
slung,  the  toothache  was  gone,  the  beardless  face  was  un- 
muffled,  the  deaf  heard  and  spoke,  the  blind  saw,  and  the 
lame  leaped  as  a  hart,  and,  in  the  presence  of  a  few  astonished 
friends  of  the  slave,  the  facts  of  this  unparalleled  Underground 
Railroad  feat  was  fully  established  by  the  most  unquestion- 
able evidence. 

The  constant  strain  and  pressure  on  Ellen's  nerves,  how- 
ever, had  tried  her  severely,  so  much  so,  that  for  days  after- 
wards, she  was  physically  very  much  prostrated,  although 
joy  and  gladness  beamed  from  her  eyes,  which  spoke  inex- 
pressible delight.  Never  can  the  writer  forget  the  impres- 
sions made  by  their  arrival.  Even  now.  after  a  lapse  of  near- 
ly 25  years,  it  is  easy  to  picture  them  in  a  private  room,  sur- 
rounded by  a  few  friends.  Ellen,  in  her  fine  suit  of  black, 
with  her  cloak  and  high-heeled  boots,  looking  in  every  re- 
spect like  a  young  gentleman.  In  an  hour  after,  having 
dropped  her  male  attire,  and  assumed  the  habiliments  of  her 
11 


(     90     ) 

sex,  the  feminine  only  was  visible  in  every  line  and  feature 
of  her  structure.  Her  husband,  William,  was  thoroughly 
colored,  but  was  a  man  of  marked  natural  abilities,  of  good 
manners,  and  full  of  pluck,  and  possessed  of  perceptive  facul- 
ties very  large.  « 

It  was  necessary,  however,  in  those  days,  that  they  should 
seek  a  permanent  residence,  where  their  freedom  would  be 
more  secure  than  in  Philadelphia.  Therefore,  they  were  ad- 
vised to  go  to  headquarters  directly,  to  Boston.  There  they 
would  be  safe,  it  was  supposed,  as  it  had  then  been  about  a 
generation  since  a  fugitive  had  been  taken  back  from  the  old 
Bay  State,  and  through  the  incessant  labors  of  William 
Lloyd  Garrison,  the  great  pioneer,  and  his  faithful  coadjutors, 
it  was  conceded  that  another  fugitive  slave  case  could  never 
be  tolerated  on  the  free  soil  of  Massachusetts.  So  to  Boston 
they  went.  On  arriving,  the  warm  hearts  of  abolitionists 
welcomed  them  heartily,  and  greeted  them  and  cheered  them 
without  let  or  hindrance.  They  did  not  pretend  to  keep 
their  coming  a  secret,  or  hide  it  under  a  bushel.  The  story 
of  their  escape  was  heralded,  broad  cast,  over  the  country, 
North  and  South,  and,  indeed,  over  the  civilized  world.  For 
two  years  or  more,  not  the  slightest  fear  was  entertained 
that  they  were  not  just  as  safe  in  Boston  as  if  they  had  gone 
to  Canada,  but  the  day  the  fugitive  bill  passed,  even  the 
bravest  abolitionists  began  to  fear  that  a  fugitive  slave  was 
no  longer  safe  under  the  stars  and  stripes,  North  and  South, 
and  William  and  Ellen  Craft  were  liable  to  be  captured,  at 
any  moment,  by  Georgia  slave-hunters.  Many  abolition- 
ists counseled  resistance  to  the  death,  at  all  hazards.  In- 
stead of  running  to  Canada,  fugitives  generally  armed  them- 
selves, and  thus  said,  "  Give  me  liberty  or  give  me  death.  " 

Wm.  and  Ellen  Craft  believed  that  it  was  their  duty,  as 
citizens  of  Massachusetts,  to  observe  a  more  legal  and  civil- 
ized mode  of  conforming  to  the  marriage  rite  than  had  been 
permitted  them  in  slavery,  and  as  Theodore  Parker  haa 
shown  himself  a  very  warm  friend  of  theirs,  they  agreed  to 
have  their  wedding  over  again,  according  to  the  laws  of  a 
free  State.  After  performing  the  ceremony,  the  renowned 
and  fearless  advocate  of  equal  rights,  Theodore  Parker,  pre- 
sented William  with  a  revolver  and  a  dirk-knife,  counseling 
him  to  use  them  manfully  in  defense  of  his  wife  and  himself, 


(     91     ) 

if  ever  an  attempt  should  be  made  by  his  owners,  or  any- 
body else,  to  re-enslave  them.  But  notwithstanding  all  the 
published  declarations  made  by  abolitionists  and  fugitives  to 
the  effect  that  slaveholders  and  slave-catchers,  in  visiting 
Massachusetts  in  pursuit  of  their  runaway  slaves,  wouldjbe 
met  by  just  such  weapons  as  Theodore  Parker  presented  Wil- 
liam with,  to  the  surprise  of  all  Boston,  the  owners  of  Wil- 
liam and  Ellen  actually  had  the  effrontery  to  attempt  their 
recapture,  under  the  Fugitive  Slave  Law.  How  it  was  done 
and  the  results,  are  taken  from  the  old  Liberator,  William 
Lloy's  Garrison's  organ.  We  copy  as  follows  : 

SLAVE-HUNTERS  IN  BOSTON. — Our  City,  for  a  week  past,  has 
been  thrown  into  a  state  of  intense  excitement  by  the  ap- 
pearance of  two  prowling  villains,  named  Hughes  and  Knight, 
from  Macon,  Georgia,  for  the  purpose  of  seizing  William  and 
Ellen  Craft,  under  the  infernal  Fugitive  Slave  Bill,  and  carry- 
ing them  back  to  the  hell  of  slavery.  Since  the  days  of  '76 
there  has  not  been  such  a  popular  demonstration  on  the  side 
of  human  freedom  in  this  region. 

The  humane  and  patriotic  contagion  has  infected  all  classes. 
Scarcely  any  other  subject  has  been  talked  about  in  the 
streets  or  in  the  social  circle.  On  Thursday  of  last  week 
warrants  for  the  arrest  of  William  and  Ellen  were  issued  by 
Judge  Levi  Woodbury.  but  no  officer  has  yet  been  found 
ready  or  bold  enough  to  serve  them.  In  the  meantime,  the 
vigilance  committee,  appointed  at  the  Fanueil  Hall  meeting, 
has  not  been  idle.  Their  number  has  been  increased  to  up- 
wards of  a  hundred  good  men  and  true,  including  some  thirty 
or  forty  members  of  the  bar,  and  they  have  been  in  constant 
session,  devising  every  legal  method  to  baffle  the  pursuing 
bloodhounds,  and  relieve  the  City  of  their  hateful  presence. 
On  Saturday,  placards  were  posted  up  in  all  directions,  an- 
nouncing the  arrival  of  these  slave-hunters,  and  describing 
their  persons.  On  the  same  day,  Hughes  and  Knight  were 
arrested,  on  a  charge  of  slander  against  William  and  Ellen 
Craft,  the  Chronotype  says,  the  damage  being  laid  at  $10,000. 
Bail  was  demanded  in  the  same  sum,  and  promptly  furnished 
— by  whom,  is  the  question.  An  immense  crowd  was  as- 
sembled in  front  of  the  Sheriff's  office.  -  While  the  bail  mat- 
ter was  being  arranged,  the  reporters  were  not  admitted.  It 


(    92    ) 

was  only  known  that  Watson  Freeman,  who  once  declared 
his  readiness  to  hang  any  number  of  negroes  remarkably 
cheap,  came  in,  saying  that  the  arrest  was  a  sham,  all  a 
humbug — the  trick  of  the  damned  abolitionists,  and  pro- 
claimed his  readiness  to  stand  bail.  John  H.  Pearsons  was 
also  sent  for  and  came.  The  same  John  H.  Pearsons,  mer- 
chant and  Southern  packet  agent,  who  immortalized  himself 
by  sending  back,  on  the  tenth  of  September,  1846,  in  the 
bark  Niagara,  a  poor  fugitive  slave,  who  came  secreted  in  the 
brig  Ottoman,  from  New  Orleans,  being  himself  Judge,  jury 
and  executioner ,to  consign  a  fellow-being  to  a  life  of  bondage,  in 
obedience  to  the  law  of  a  slave  State,  and  in  violation  of  the 
law  of  his  own.  This  same  John  H.  Pearsons,  not  contented 
with  his  previous  infamy,  was  on  hand.  There  is  a  story 
that  the  slave-hunters  have  been  his  table-guests  also,  and 
whether  he  bailed  them  or  not,  we  don't  know.  What  we 
know  is,  that  soon  after  Pearsons  came  out  from  the  back 
room,  where  he  and  Knight  and  the  Sheriff  had  been  closet- 
ed, the  Sheriff  said  that  Knight  was  bailed.  He  would  not 
say  by  whom.  Knight  being  looked  after,  was  not  to  be 
found.  He  had  slipped  out  through  a  back  door,  and  thus 
cheated  the  crowd  of  the  pleasure  of  greeting  him,  possibly 
with  that  rough  and  ready  affection  which  Barclays'  brewers 
bestowed  on  Haynau.  The  jescape  was  very  fortunate,  every 
way.  Hughes  and  Knight  have  since  been  twice  arrested,  and 
put  under  bonds  of  $10,000,  making  thirty  thousand  in  all, 
charged  with  conspiracy  to  kidnap  and  abduct  William  and 
Ellen  Craft,  a  peaceable  citizen  of  Massachusetts,  etc.  Bail 
was  entered  by  Hamilton  Willis,  of  Willis  and  Co.,  State 
street,  and  Patrick  Riley,  U.  S.  Deputy  Marshal.  The  fol- 
lowing is  a  verbatim  et  literatim  copy  of  the  letter  sent  by 
Knight  to  Craft,  to  entice  him  to  the  U.  S.  Hotel,  in  order 
to  kidnap  him.  It  shows  that  the  schoolmaster  owes  Knight 
more  service  and  labor  than  it  is  possible  for  Craft  to  pay. 

BOSTON,  October  22d,  1850,  11  o'clock,  p.  M. 
Wm.   Craft: 

Sir — I  have  to  leave  so  early  in  the  morning  that  I  could 
not  call  according  to  promise,  so  if  you  want  me  to  carry  a 
letter  home,  with  me,  you  must  bring  it  to  the  United  States 
Hotel  to-morrow,  and  leave  it  in  box  44,  or  come  yourself  to- 


(    93    ) 

morrow  evening  after  tea  and  bring  it.  Let  me  know  if  you 
come  yourself  by  sending  a  note  to  box  44,  U.  S.  Hotel,  so 
that  I  may  know  whether  to  wait  after  tea  or  not,  by  the 
bearer.  If  your  wife  wants  to  see  me  you  could  bring  her 
with  you  if  you  come  yourself.  JOHN  KNIGHT. 

P.  S.     I  shall  leave  for  home  early  on  Thursday  morning. 

J.  K. 

At  a  meeting  of  colored  people,  held  in  Belknap  St.  Church, 
on  Friday  evening,  the  following  resolutions  were  unani- 
mously adopted : 

Resolved,  That  God  willed  us  free,  man  willed  us  slaves. 
We  will  as  God  wills.  God's  will  be  done. 

Resolved,  That  our  oft-repeated  determination  to  resist 
oppression,  is  the  same  now  as  ever,  an  1  we  pledge  ourselves, 
at  all  hazards,  to  resist  unto  death  any  attempt  upon  our 
liberties. 

Resolved,  That  as  South  Carolina  seizes  and  imprisons 
colored  seamen  from  the  North,  under  the  plea  that  it  is  to 
prevent  insurrection  and  rebellion  among  her  colored  pop- 
ulation, the  authorities  of  this  State  and  City,  in  particular, 
be  requested  to  lay  hold  of,  and  put  in  prison  immediately, 
any  and  all  fugitive  slave-hunters  who  may  be  found  among 
us,  upon  the  same  ground  and  similar  reasons . 

Spirited  addresses  of  a  most  emphatic  type  were  made  by 
Messrs.  Eemond  of  Salem,  Roberts,  Nell,  and  Allen  of  Bos- 
ton, and  Davis  of  Plymouth.  Individuals  and  highly  re- 
spectable committees  of  gentlemen  have  repeatedly  waited 
upon  these  Georgia  miscreants  to  persuade  them  to  make  a 
speedy  departure  from  the  city.  After  promising  to  do  so, 
and  repeatedly  falsifying  their  word,  it  is  said  that  they  left 
on  Wednesday  afternoon,  in  the  Express  train  for  New  York. 
And  thus,  says  the  Chronotype,  they  have  gone  off,  with  their 
ears  full  of  fleas,  to  fire  the  solemn  word  for  the  dissolution 
of  the  Union. 

Telegraphic  intelligence  is  received  that  President  Fill- 
more  has  announced  his  determination  to  sustain  the  Fugi- 
tive Slave  Bill,  at  all  hazards.  Let  him  try.  The  fugitives, 
as  well  as  the  colored  people  generally,  seem  determined  to 
carry  out  the  spirit  of  the  resolutions,  to  their  fullest  extent. 

Ellen   first    received    information  that   the   slave-hunters 


from  Georgia  were  after  her,  through  Mrs.  George  Hil- 
liard  of  Boston,  who  had  been  a  good  friend  to  her,  from 
the  day  of  her  arrival  from  slavery.  How  Mrs.  Hilliard  ob- 
tained the  information  the  impression  is  made  on  Ellen,  and 
where  she  was  secreted,  the  following  extract  of  a  letter  writ- 
ten by  Mrs.  Hilliard,  touching  the  memorable  event,  will 
be  found  deeply  interesting: 

In  regard  to  William  and  Ellen  Craft,  it  is  true  that  we  re- 
ceived her  at  our  house,  when  the  first  warrant,  under  the 
Act  of  eighteen  hundred  and  forty,  was  issued. 

Dr.  Bowditch  called  upon  us  to  say,  that  the  warrant  must 
be  for  William  and  Ellen,  as  they  were  the  only  fugitives 
here  known  to  have  come  from  Georgia,  and  the  Doctor 
asked  what  we  could  ao.  I  went  to  the  house  of  the  Rev. 
F.  S.  Gray,  on  Mount  Yernon  street,  where  Ellen  was  work- 
ing with  Miss  Dean,  a  i  upholsteress,  a  friend  of  ours,  who 
had  told  us  she  would  teach  Ellen  her  trade.  I  proposed  to 
Ellen  to  come,  and  do  some  work  for  me.  Intending  not  to 
alarm  her,  my  manner,  which  I  supposed  to  be  indifferent  and 
calm,  betrayed  me,  and  she  threw  herself  into  my  arms, 
sobbing  and  weeping.  She,  however,  recovered  her  compo- 
sure as  soon  as  we  reached  the  street,  and  was  very  firm 
ever  after. 

My  husband  wished  her,  by  all  means,  to  be  brought  to 
our  house,  and  remain  under  his  protection,  saying,  "I  am 
perfectly  willing  to  meet  the  penalty,  should  she  be  found 
here,  but  will  never  give  her  up."  The  penalty,  you  remem- 
ber, was  six  months  imprisonment  and  a  thousand  dollars 
fine.  William  Craft  went,  after  a  time,  to  Lewis  Hayden. 

He  was,  at  first,  as  Dr.  Bowditch  told  us,  barricaded  in 
his  shop  on  Cambridge  street.  I  saw  him  there,  and  he  said, 
"  Ellen  must  not  be  left  at  your  house.'7  "  Why,  William," 
said  I,  "do  you  think  we  would  give  her  up?"  "Never," 
said  he,  "but  Mr.  Hilliard  is  not  only  our  friend  but  he  is 
a  U.  8.  Commissioner,  and  should  Ellen  be  found  in  his 
house,  he  must  resign  his  office,  as  well  as  incur  the  penalty 
of  the  law,  and  I  wi1!  notjsubject  a  friend  to  such  a  punish- 
ment for  the  sake  of  our  safety."  Was  not  this  noble,  when 
you  think  how  small  was  the  penalty  that  any  one  could 
receive  for  aiding  slaves  to  escape,  compared  to  the  fate 
which  threatened  them  in  case  they  were  recaptured  ?  Wil- 


(     95     ) 

liam  made  the  same  objection  to  having  his  wife  taken  to  Mr. 
Ellis  Gray  Loring,  he  also  being  a  friend  and  a  commissioner. 

This  deed  of  humanity  and  Christian  charity  is  worthy  to 
be  commemorated,  and  classed  with  the  act  of  the  good  Sa- 
maritan, as  the  same  spirit  is  shown  in  both  cases.  Often 
was  Mrs.  Hilliard's  house  an  asylum  for  fugitive  slaves . 

After  the  hunters  had  left  the  city  in  dismay,  and  the 
storm  of  excitement  had  partially  subsided,  the  friends  of 
William  and  Ellen  concluded  that  they  had  better  seek  a 
country  where  they  would  not  be  in  daily  iear  of  slave- 
catchers,  backed  by  the  government  of  the  United  States. 
They  were,  therefore,  advised  to  go  to  Great  Britain . 

Outfits  were  liberally  provided  for  them,  passages  procured, 
and  they  took  their  departure  for  a  habitation  in  a  foreign 
land.  Much  might  be  told  concerning  the  warm  reception 
they  met  with  from  the  friends  of  humanity  on  every  hand, 
during  a  stay  in  England  of  nearly  a  score  of  years,  but  we 
feel  obliged  to  make  the  following  extract  suffice  : 

Extract  of  a  Letter  from  Wm.  Farmer,  Esq.,  of  London,  to  Wm. 

Lloyd  Garrison. 

Fortunately  we  have,  at  the  present  moment,  in  the  British 
Metropolis,  some  specimens  of  what  were  once  American  chat- 
tels personal,  in  the  persons  of  William  and  Ellen  Craft  and 
William  W.  Brown,  and  their  friends  resolved  that  they 
should  be  exhibited  under  the  world's  huge  glass  case,  in 
order  that  the  world  might  form  its  opinion  of  the  alleged 
mental  inferiority  of  the  African  race  and  their  fitness  or  un- 
fitness  for  freedom.  A  small  company  of  anti-slavery  friends 
were  accordingly  formed  to  accompany  the  fugitives  through 
the  Exhibition.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Estlin,  of  Bristol,  and  a  lady 
friend,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Webb,  of  Dublin,  and  a  son  and  daugh- 
ter, Mr.  McDonnell,  Mr.  Thompson,  Mrs.  Thompson,  Miss 
A.  Thompson,  and  the  Crafts  and  Brown  proceeded  to  the 
Exhibition. 


BARNABY  GRIGBY,  ALIAS  JOHN  BOYES,  AND  MARY 

ELIZABETH  HIS  WIFE,  FRANK  WANZER,  ALIAS 
ROBERT  SCOTT,  AND  EMILY  FOSTER,  ALIAS 
ANN  WOOD. 

All  these  persons  journeyed  from  London  county,  Virginia, 
on  horseback  and  carriage,  for  more  than  one  hundred  miles, 
availing  themselves  of  a  holiday  and  their  masters'  horses 
and  carriage.  They  as  deliberately  started  for  Canada,  as 
though  they  had  never  been  taught  that  it  was  their  duty,  as 
servants,  to  obey  their  masters  ;  in  this  particular,  showing 
a  most  utter  disregard  of  the  interests  of  their  kind-hearted 
and  indulgent  owners.  They  left  home  on  Monday,  Christ- 
mas Eve,  1835,  under  the  leadership  of  Frank  Wanzer,  and 
arrived  in  Columbia  the  following  Wednesday,  at  one  o'clock. 
As  willfully  as  they  had  thus  made  their  way  along,  they  had  not 
found  it  smooth  sailing,  by  any  means.  The  biting  frost  and 
snow  rendered  their  travel  anything  but  agreeable.  Nor  did 
they  escape  the  gnawings  of  hunger,  traveling  day  and  night, 
and  whilst  these  articles  were  in  the  very  act  of  running  away 
with  themselves  and  their  kind  masters'  best  horses  and  car- 
riage, when  about  one  hundred  miles  from  home,  in  the 
neighborhood  of  Cheat  river,  Maryland,  they  were  attacked 
by  six  white  men  and  a  boy,  who,  doubtless,  supposing  that 
their  intentions  were  of  a  wicked  and  unlawful  character,  felt 
it  to  be  their  duty,  in  kindness  to  their  masters,  if  not  to  the 
travelers,  to  demand  of  them  an  account  of  themselves.  In 
other  words,  their  assailants  positively  commanded  the  fugi- 
tives to  show  what  right  they  possessed  to  be  found  in  a  con- 
dition so  unwarranted. 

The  spokesman  among  the  fugitives,  affecting  no  ordinary 
amount  of  dignity,  told  their  opponents  that  no  gentleman 
would  interfere  with  persons  riding  along  civilly,  not  allowing 
it  to  be  supposed  that  they  were  slaves,  of  course. 

These  gentlemen,  however,  were  not  willing  to  accept  this, 
account  of  the  travelers,  as  their  very  decided  steps  indi- 
cated. Having  the  law  on  their  side,  they  were  for  com- 
pelling the  fugitives  to  surrender,  without  further  parley. 
At  this  juncture,  the  fugitives,  verily  believing  that  the  time 


(    97    ) 

had  arrived  for  the  practical  use  bf  their  pistols  and  dirks, 
pulled  them  out  of  their  concealment,  the  young  women  as 
well  as  the  men,  and  declared  they  would  not  be  taken. 
One  of  the  white  men  raised  his  gun,  pointing  the  muzzle 
directly  towards  one  of  the  young  women,  with  the  threat 
that  he  would  shoot,  etc.  "  Shoot,  shoot,  shoot  !"  she  ex- 
claimed, with  a  double-barreled  pistol  in  one  hand  and  a  long 
dirk-knife  in  the  other,  utterly  unterrified  and  fully  ready  for 
a  death-struggle.  The  male  leader  of  the  fugitives,  by  this 
time,  had  pulled  back  the  hammers  of  his  pistols,  and  was 
about  to  fire.  Their  adversaries,  seeing  the  weapons  and  the 
unflinching  determination  on  the  part  of  the  runaways  to 
stand  their  ground,  spill  blood,  kill  or  die,  rather  than  be 
taken,  very  prudently  sidled  over  to  the  other  side  of  the 
road,  leaving  four  of  the  victors  to  travel  on  their  way.  At 
this  moment,  the  four  in  the  carriage  lost  sight  of  the  two  on 
horseback.  Soon  after  the  separation  they  heard  firing,  but 
what  the  result  was  they  knew  not.  They  were  fearful,  how- 
ever, that  their  companions  had  been  captured. 

A  paragraph  from  a  Southern  paper  leaves  no  room  to 
doubt  as  to  the  fate  of  the  two:  "  Six  fugitive  slaves  from 
Virginia  were  arrested  at  the  Maryland  line,  near  Hood's 
mill,  on  Christmas  day,  but,  after  a  severe  fight,  four  of 
them  escaped,  and  have  not  been  heard  from  since.  They 
came  from  London  and  Fauquier  Counties." 

Though  the  four  who  were  successful  saw  no  severe  fight, 
it  is  not  unreasonable  to  suppose  that  there  was  a  fight,  but 
not  till  after  the  number  of  the  fugitives  had  been  reduced 
to  two  instead  of  six.  As  chivalrous  as  slaveholders  and 
slave-catchers  were,  they  knew  the  value  of  their  precious 
lives,  and  the  fearful  risk  of  attempting  a  capture  when  the 
numbers  were  equal.  The  party  in  the  carriage,  after  the 
conflict,  went  on  their  way  rejoicing. 

The  young  men,  one  cold  night,  when  they  were  compelled 
to  take  rest  in  the  woods  and  snow,  in  vain  strove  to  keep  the 
feet  of  their  female  companions  from  freezing,  by  laying  on 
them,  but.  the  frost  was  merciless  and  bit  them  severely,  as 
their  feet  plainly  showed. 

The  following  disjointed  report  was  cut  from  the  Freder- 
ick, Md.,  Examiner,  soon  after  the  occurrence: 

"  Six  slaves,  four  men  and  two  women,  fugitives  from  Vir- 
12 


(    98    ) 

ginia,  having  with  them  two  spring  wagons  and  four  horses, 
came  to  Hood's  Mill,  on  Baltimore  and  Ohio  Railroad,  near 
the  dividing  line  between  Frederick  and  Carroll  Counties,  on 
Christmas  day.  After  feeding  thair  animals,  one  of  them 
told  a  Mr.  Dixon  whence  they  came.  Believing  them  to  be 
fugitives,  he  spread  the  alarm,  and  some  eight  or  ten  per- 
sons gathered  around  to  arrest  them,  but  the  negroes,  draw- 
ing revolvers  and  bowie  knives,  kept  their  assailants  at  bay, 
until  five  of  the  party  succeeded  in  escaping  in  one  of  the 
wagons,  and,  as  the  last  one  jumped  on  a  horse  to  flee,  he 
was  fired  on,  the  load  taking  effect  in  the  small  of  the  back. 

The  prisoner  says  he  belongs  to  Charles  W.  Simpson,  of 
Fauquier  county,  Va.,  and  ran  away  with  the  others  the  pre- 
ceding evening. 

This  report  from  the  Examiner,  while  it  is  not  wholly  cor- 
rect, evidently  relates  to  the  fugitives  above  described. 
Why  the  reporters  made  such  glaring  mistakes  may  be 
accounted  for  on  the  ground  that  the  bold  stand  made  by  the 
fugitives  was  so  bewildering  and  alarming-  that  the  assail- 
ants were  not  in  a  condition  to  make  correct  statements. 
We  give  it  for  what  it  is  worth. 


STOCKHOLDERS   IN  THE  U.    G.    R.   R. 

I  will  give  you  the  names  of  a  few  wealthy  stockholders 
of  the  Anglo-Saxon  race: 

A.  C.  Walton,  of  Lancaster  County,  Pennsylvania. 
Daniel  Gibbons, 
Michael  Whitson. 
Sad  Stevens, 
Wm.  Rickstraw 
Clarkson  Browsier,     " 
Lucretia  Mott,  Philadelphia 
Mayland  Brosier,  Chester,  Penn.,  who  has  a  son,  May  land 

Brosier,  Jr.,  who  is  a  Senator  at  the  present  time. 


(     99     ) 

John  Broomer,  of  Chester  County,  Penn. 
Edward  Br osier,  of  Court  Square,  Chester  County. 
Horace  Greeley,  of  New  York. 

Let  ine  give  you  a  few  names  of  the  African  stockholders 
Baf.  Gillrner,  of  Lancaster  city,  Penn. 
Wm.  Smith,  of  Chester 
Chas.  Martin,  of  Lancaster    " 
Nelson  Wiggins,  of  New  Garden. 
Dr.  Barrs,  of  Philadelphia. 
Jacob  Gibbs,  of  Baltimore. 
John  Brown,  of  Virginia. 
Dr.  McEwen  Smith,  of  New  York. 
George  Williams,  of  Little  Briton, 


A  FEW  ITEMS  ON  SPIRTUALISM. 

Now,  I  am  going  to  give  you  a  few  items  on  Spiritualism. 
I  have  heard,  from  the  age  of  a  boy  up  to  the  present  time, 
that  when  a  man  died  he  had  the  power  to  return  to  this 
world  in  the  form  of  a  spirit.  I  deny  it.  I  am  surprised 
that  such  intelligent  people  will  keep  up  such  a  belief,  and 
instill  it  in  the  minds  of  the  youth,  in  these  enlightened 
times.  What  1  tell  me  that  a  man  has  power  to  come  back 
into  this  world  in  the  form  of  a  spirit  ?  Don't  believe  it. 
There  are  but  the  two  places,  Hell  or  Heaven,  when  a  man 
dies,  and  when  his  soul  goes  to  heaven  he  don't  want  to  ge 
back,  and  when  he  gets  to  Hell,  the  Devil  gets  hold  of  him, 
and  he  has  no  chance  to  get  back  again.  Yes,  writer,  but  did 
you  not  hear,  at  the  time  that  Christ  was  crucified,  that  the 
dead  saints  got  up  and  walked  on  the  earth?  Ah,  reader,  is 
anything  impossible  foi  God  to  do?  That  was.  God's  doing. 
He  had  power  to  raise  His  own  life  and  power  to  lay  it  down, 
and  power  to  raise  the  dead  saints  at  His  crucifixion.  My 
humble"  belief  is,  that  God  is]a  Spirit,  and  without  Him  there 


(    100    ) 

is  no  other  spirit  that  has  power  to  visit  the  earth.  Yes, 
says  one,  we  have  medium s  who  have  power  to  raise  the 
spirits.  Those  mediums  are  nothing  but  slight-of-hand 
work  and  electricity.  It  causes  the  table  to  rock.  Until  they 
raise  a  spirit  and  bring  it  before  me,  I,  the  writer  of  this 
book,  will  not  believe  it  :  and  I  advise  others  not  to  believe 
it.  Let  me  tell  you  about  a  ghost  story.  A  certain  man  used 
to  gather  hickory  nuts,  and  store  them  away  in  his  loft,  and 
would  irive  them  to  nobody.  When  they  asked  him  for  some, 
he  said,  "  No.  What  I  can't  eat  I  want  the  people  to  put  the 
remaining  in  my  grave."  So  when  he  died  they  did  so  So 
two  men  concluded  to  go  and  steal  sheep  one  night.  One  of 
them  had  some  hickory  nuts  and  a  hammer  in  his  pocket. 
Going  through  *the  woods,  he  came  across  this  grave-yard, 
and  sitting  down  on  the  tombstone,  began  to  crack  his  hick- 
ory nuts,  and  said  to  his  partner,  "I  will  stay  here  and  keep 
watch,  while  you  go  down  and  see  where  the  sheep  are."  In 
the  meantime  a  carpenter  came  by,  who  lived  not  far  from 
the  grave-yard.  He  came  unto  his  partner  very  much  alarmed, 
saying,  "I  have  heard  very  much  about  the  old  man  crack- 
ing hickory  nuts,  but  to-night  I  saw  it  with  my  own  eyes," 
and  his  partner,  who  was  sick  with  the  rheumatism  for  a 
long  time,  answered  :  "  I  won't  believe  it  unless  I  see  it  with 
my  own  eyes."  He  said,  "Just  get  on  my  back  and  I  will 
carry  you  out  there  and  show  him  to  you."  As  they  were 
going  along  by  some  bushes  he  said,  "  Don't  you  hear  him  ?" 
"Yes,  but  I  want  to  see  him.  Take  me  a  little  further."  And 
he  carried  him  along  until  he  got  within  sight  of  him,  and 
said,  "Don't  you  see  him  ?"  And  the  man  who  was  sitting 
there  cracking  hickory  nuts,  thought  it  was  his  partner  with 
the  sheep,  and  they  stood  still,  looking  at  him,  and  he  says, 
"Is  he  fat?  Is  he  fat?  1  say  is  he  fat?"  And  the  fellow  that 
had  him  on  his  back  give  him  a  chuck,  and  says,  ';  Here  he 
is,  take  him,  fat  or  lean,;'  and  the  ghost  broke  and  run,  and 
the  other  man  run,  and  the  lame  man  beat  his  partner  home. 
So  much  for  that  ghost  story.  So  you  see,  reader,  ghosts 
and  spirits  are  nothing  but  imagination.  The  only  spirit  we 
have  is  Alcohol,  and  when  it  gets  into  a  man  it  stretches  him 
out,  and  sometimes  persons  come  along  and  imagine  it  is  a 
ghost.  So  ends  the  ghost  story  and  Spiritualism. 


ABOUT   BIGAMY. 

Let  me  give  the  reader  a  few  items  on  Bigamy.  They  say 
bigamy  is  a  wrong  and  a  curse  to  the  land.  So  say  I,  but  I 
noticed,  during  my  visit  to  Salt  Lake,  that  it  is  one  of  the 
handsomest  cities  in  the  United  States,  with  beautiful  streams 
of  clear  water  running  through  the  streets.  And  Brigham 
allowed  a  man  to  have  as  many  wives  as  he  was  able  to  take 
care  of,  but  he  must  be  able  to  take  care  of  them.  There 
were  no  whisky  mills,  no  dance-houses,  and  no  gambling 
houses,  and  no  houses  of  ill-repute.  Let  us  see  the  differ- 
ence. Since  Americans  have  been  there,  there  are  dance- 
houses,  whisky  mills,  gambling-houses  and  houses  of  ill- 
repute.  Let  me  ask  the  reader  a  question  :  How  is  it  that 
in  the  United  States  men  run  away  with  other  men's 
wives,  married  men  keeping  three  or  four  different  women 
outside  of  the  family  circle,  and  no  notice  taken  of  that  ? 
Which  is  the  best  law,  to  allow  a  man  to  marry  a  number 
of  women  and  be  able  to  take  care  of  them,  or  allow  a  man  to 
marry  one,  and  be  not  able  to  take  care  of  her,  and  running 
away  with  several,  and  no  notice  taken  of  it?  Then  I  am  not 
an  advocate  of  these  doctrines,  but  I  only  say  that  we,  some 
of  the  colored  people,  who  are  possessed  of  little  learning, 
take  notice  of  these  matters.  Look  at  Salt  Lake  four  years 
ago.  ancf  look  at  it  to-day,  and  you  will  see  the  difference. 
I  say  Brigham  is  an  old  man,  and  I  say  we  should  let  him 
alone  during  his  lifetime. 


ABOUT   THE   MODOC  WAR. 

A  FEW  ITEMS   THAT   CAME  UNDER  MY  NOTICE.       THE   GREAT   TER- 
RIFIC   MODOC   WAR  IN   OREGON. 

We,  the  American  Army,  have  opened  fire  on  this  16th  of 
April,  1873,  on  the  Modocs.  And  the  battle  was  so  great 
that  we  had  to  issue  an  extra  record,  telling  the  people  that 


(    102    ) 

we  have  got  the  favorable  position  of  the  Modocs  and  hold- 
ing it  in  possession,  and  our  soldiers  are  strung  along,  for 
over  a  mile,  on  their  best  battle-ground,  and  the  Warm 
Spring  Indians,  about  75,  on  the  other  side,  leading  the  way. 
And  we  have  thrown  a  few  shells  into  their  camp,  and  their 
is  not  on  Indian  to  be  seen.  And  the  Warm  Spring  Indians 
fought  bravely.  And  the  Modocs  say  they  are  nearly  hell. 
And  by  to-morrow,  which  is  the  17th,  there  wont  be-  an 
Indian  left.  They  will  all  be  killed.  But  here  is  the  8th 
day  of  May,  1873,  and  the  only  account  that  we  have,  is  that 
there  are  only  2  killed.  But  they  have  slaughtered  our 
soldiers  too  shamefully  to  record..  And  sent  three  of  our 
best  men.  Gen.  Canby,  Dr.  Thomas  and  Colonel  Wright 
to  the  grave,  by  that  large  band  of  Modocs,  47  warriors, 
while  there  was  from  800  to  900  soldiers  and  Warm  Spring 
Indians,  and  the  idea  of  letting  the  best  men  be  killed  !  It 
is  a  disgrace,  according  to  my  belief,  to  the  American  Gov- 
ernment. The  proceeding  of  such  disgraceful  acts  I  will 
not  proceed  to  record  any  more. 


PRECIOUS  SCRIPTURE  WORDS. 

Be  ye,  therefore,  merciful,  as  your  Father  also  is  merciful. 
Judge  not,  and  ye  shall  not  be  judged:  condemn  not,  and  ye 
shall  not  be  condemned:  forgive,  and  ye  shall  be  forgiven. 

Give  and  it  shall  be  given  unto  you:  good  measure, 
pressed  down,  and  shaken  together,  and  running  over,  shall 
men  give  into  your  bosom.  For  with  the  same  measure  that 
ye  mete  withal,  it  shall  be  measured  to  you  again.  And  he 
spake  a  parable  unto  them.  Can  the  blind  lead  the  blind  ? 
Shall  they  not  both  fall  into  the  ditch?  The  disciple  is  not 
above  his  master,  but  every  one  that  is  perfect  shall  be  his 
master.  And  why  beholdest  thou  the  mote  that  is  in  thy 
brother's  eye,  but  perceive  not  the  beam  that  is  in  thine  own 


(     103     )     x 

eye  ?  Either  how  canst  thou  say  to  thy  brother,  Brother, 
let  me  pull  out  the  mote  in  thine  eye,  when  thou  thyself 
beholdest  not  the  beam  that  is  in  thine  own  eye  ?  Thou 
hypocrite !  Cast  out  first  the  beam  of  thine  own  eye,  and  then 
shalt  thou  see  clearly  to  pull  out  the  mote  that  is  in  thy 
brother's  eye.  For  a  good  tree  bringeth  forth  not  corrupt 
fruit:  neither  doth  a  corrupt  tree  bring  forth  good  fruit. 
For  every  tree  is  known  by  its  fruit;  for  of  thorns  men  do 
not  gather  figs,  nor  of  a  bramble-bush  gather  they  grapes. 
A  good  man  out  of  the  good  treasure  of  his  heart  bringeth 
forth  that  which  is  good;  and  an  evil  man  out  of  the  evil 
treasure  of  his  heart  briugeth  that  which  is  evil;  for  of  the 
abundance  of  the  heart  his  mouth  speaketh.  And  why  call 
ye  me,  Lord,  Lord,  and  do  not  the  things  which  I  say  ? 
Whosoever  cometh  to  me,  and  heareth  my  sayings,  and 
doeth  them,  I  will  show  you  to  whom  he  is  like:  He  is  like  a 
man  which  built  a  house,  and  digged  deep,  and  laid  the 
foundation  on  a  rock :  and  when  the  flood  arose,  the  stream 
beat  vehemently  upon  that  house  and  could  not  shake  it; 
for  it  was  founded  on  a  rock .  i3ut  he  that  heareth,  and 
doeth  not,  is  like  a  man  that,  without  a  foundation,  built  a 
house  on  the  earth;  against  which  the  stream  did  beat 
vehemently,  and  immediately  it  fell;  and  the  ruin  of  that 
house  was  great. 


CALIFORNIA. 

California  as  she  always  was,  as  she  always  will  be.  Cali- 
fornia not  as  she  was,  but  as  she  is  at  the  present  time,  not 
as  she  is  at  the  present  time 'but  as  she  will  be.  Writer, 
how  explain  this  ?  In  early  times  we  had  surface  digging, 
only  a  foot  from  the  surface  of  the  earth,  and  every  poor 
man  could  have  a  claim  of  his  own.  Not  so  now.  We  have 


(     104     ) 

hydraulic  diggings  owned  by  large  capitalists.  Then  not  as 
she  was,  but  is  at  the  present  time.  California  was  always  a 
rich  country  for  gold,  and  always  will  be.  Then  as  she 
always  was  so  she  always  will  be.  Though  she  was  a  rich 
country,  we  had  no  large  capitalists.  Then  not  as  she  was. 
She  was  not  noted  then  for  such  respectable  societies  as  she 
is  at  the  present  time.  We  had  no  such  buildings  as  Stan- 
ford's and  Crocker's  then,  as  she  has  at  the  present  time. 
We  had  no  State  Capitol,  and  Railroads  running  through  the 
State  then  as  she  has  now.  When  I  came  to  this  State  they 
had  neither  railroads,  steamboats,  stages  or  carriages. 
Now,  when  I  look  around  in  San  Francisco,  I  see  splendid 
coaches  and  carriages.  I  could  not  see  at  that  time  50 
ladies  in  San  Francisco.  Now  I  see  Montgomery  street, 
thronged  with  1000  ladies.  In  my  humble  belief,  Mont- 
gomery and  Kearny  streets  in  San  Francisco  excel  Chest- 
nut street  in  Philadelphia.  Then  California,  not  as  she  was 
but  as  she  is  at  the  present  time.  Not  as  she  is  at  the  pres- 
ent time  but  as  she  will  be.  We  now  cultivate  our  own  soil, 
and  raise  our  own  provisions.  We  don't  need  to  send  East 
for  provisions  any  more,  as  we  did  in  early  times.  She  does 
not  support  her  ownself,  but  she  supports  other  countries. 
Then,  may  the  writer  say,  as  she  always  was,  so  she  always 
will  be.  These  things  which  I  have  recorded  have  come  un- 
der my  notice  since  I  arrived  in  California,  in  1851. 

This  book  was  commenced  in  1869,  and  printed  in  1873. 
I,  James  Williams,  commenced  to  sell  pamphlets  of  mv 
book  in  April,  1853.  The  only  fault  I  have  with  California, 
is  that  there  is  not  Christianity  enough.  Though  we  have 
large  churches,  in  my  belief  there  is  but  little  religion.  I 
believe  California  is  one  of  the  most  ungodly  countries  of 
the  U.  S. 


(     105-    ) 


THE  CHINESE  IN  CALIFORNIA. 

I   now  proceed  to  record  a  few  items  about   the  history  of 
the  Chinese  in  California.     I  believe,   giving  a  rough  guess, 
there  is  about  8,000  Chinese  in  California.     And  all  appear 
to  be  industrious  and  persevering  in  business,  and  prosper- 
ous, own  a    large  amount  of  property  in  the  cities   of   San 
Francisco,  Sacramento,    and  other  places,    and  large  store 
establishments.     Some  of  our  true  Americans  say  they  don't 
want  them  here;    that  they  will  get  so   numerous  that  we 
Americans  can't  live.     Did'nt  God  create  the   Chinamen  as 
well  as  the  Americans?    He  never  made  a  mouth   but  that 
he  prepared  bread  to  fill  it.     Then  let  us  trust  in  Him,  and 
He  will  prepare  ways  for  us  all,  and  take  care  of  us  all  like- 
wise.    What  would   we  do  in  the   State   of  California  but 
for  the    Chinamen  ?     The   rich   people   couldn't  get  along 
without  them;  for   servants   and   cooks,   whether  white   or 
colored,  it  is  difficult  to   hire;   therefore,    they  must  have 
Chinamen  as  house  servants.     But,  they  say,  we  must  drive 
the    Chinamen   out  of  California,    for  they  work   so  cheap. 
As  cheap  as  they  work,  they  pay  more  for  rent,  and  are  taxed 
more  than  any  other  race  of  people.     Drive  them  out  ?  Ah, 
my  learned  friends,  are   you  not  aware  that  California  is  a 
free  country  ?     It  is  a  part  of  the  United  States  of  Ameri- 
ica,  and  America   throws  open  her  doors   for    all  nations. 
Now  let  me  tell  you  a  tale  that  I  have  heard  from  the  age  of 
a   boy  to  the  present    time.     In  New  York  City,  and   the 
City  of  Philadelphia,  in  1844,  1845,  a  cry  was  raised  among 
the  true  American  people  against  the  Irish   people.     Allow 
me    to  use  the  phrase  that  the    people  used  at   that  time. 
Some  would  say,  k'the  Irish,"  others  would  say,  "The  damned 
Irish  are   all   emigrating  here   from  Ireland;  that    we,  the 
American  people,  would  be  starved,  and  couldn't  get  work 
on  account  of  the  Irish."    But  take  notice,  please,  that  the 
Irish  have  lived,  we  have  lived,  and  no  one  has  been  starved 
yet. 

I  want  to  call  your  attention  to  the  fact,    that  in  1855,  in 
Sacramento,  there  was  a  bill  introduced  into  the  Legislature 
to  prohibit  colored  men  from  immigrating  to  the  State  of  Cali- 
13 


(    106    ) 

fornia,  and  that  those  that  were  here  should  leave,  and  those 
that  didn't  leave  should  be  taxed  heavily,  and  should  wear 
tags;  also,  the  same  law  was  introduced  in  Oregon.  While 
this  was  going  on,  Great  Britain  threw  open  her  doors  and 
invited  us  to  Vancouver's  Island.  We  commenced  to  flock 
there  like  bees,  and  the  Sacramento  merchants  and  property  - 
holders  began  to  intercede,  and  the  bill  went  under  the  table, 
and  we  are  all  living  in  harmony  up  to  the  present  time,  and 
nobody  is  hurt  yet.  So  you  see,  my  whining  friends,  that  the 
Irish  and  the  Niggers  have  outlived  that  sentiment,  and  now 
it  is  the  Chinamen.  Who  are  the  best  workmen  we  have  in 
America  ?  The  Irish.  Who  build  your  railroads  ?  The  Irish. 
Who  run  your  locomotives  ?  The  Irish.  Who  build  your 
canals  ?  The  Irish.  Who  fought  your  battles  in  the  war  ? 
The  Irish.  Who  work  your  hydraulic  diggings  in  California  ? 
The  Irish.  Who  increased  the  value  of  property  in  San 
Francisco?  The  Irish.  While  the  true  Americans,  whit6 
and  black,  would  come  and  look  at  the  sand  hills,  would  stick 
their  hands  in  their  pockets,  and  would  walk  away  and  say, 
"I  wouldn't  give  two  cents  for  the  whole  place."  But  the 
Irish  would  come  along,  and  squat  his  little  tent,  and  would 
say,  "  This  place  will  be  good  some  time,"  and  so  he  contin- 
ued to  improve  it,  day  after  day,  until  his  place  became  quite 
valuable.  Then  the  American,  like  the  eagle  on  some  tall 
tree,  watching  the  fish-hawk  until  he  caught  a  fish,  became 
anxious  for  the  place,  though  he  toiled  none.  If  he  couldn't 
buy  at  his  own  figure,  he  would  set  up  some  scheme  or  other 
to  rob  him  out  ol  it  by  titles.  My  opinion  is,  that  the  Irish 
people  have  increased  the  wealth  of  Philadelphia  one-third 
to  what  she  was  twenty  years  ago.  So  you  will  see  what 
these  three  classes  had  to  undergo. 


(    107    ) 

Let  us  rejoice  and  sing  unto  the  Lord  God  of  hosts. 

There  is  a  fcnintain  filled  with  blood 

Drawn  from  Emamiel's  veins, 
And  sinners  plunged  beneath  that  flood 
Are  losing  all  their  guilty  stains. 

CHOKUS — I  do  believe,  I  now  believe 

That  Jesus  died  for  me, 
And  by  his  blood,  his  precious  blood 
I  shall  from  sin  be  free. 

Thou  dying  Lamb,  thy  precious  blood 

Shall  never  lose  its  power, 
Till  Jail  the  ransomed  church  of  God 
Be  saved  to  sin,  no  more. 

CHORUS — I  do  believe,  I  now  believe,  etc. 


THE    CHRISTIAN'S  VOYAGE  THROUGH  LIFE    AND  DEATH. 

Though  the  sea  is  rough  and  stormy, 

And  the  winds  blow  fierce  and  loud, 

Jesus  Christ  will  be  my  captain 

And  I  '11  make  the  port  at  last. 

CHORUS — We  're  out  on  the  ocean  sailing, 

Homeward  bound  we  swiftly  glide; 
We  're  out  on  the  ocean  sailing, 
To  a  home  beyond  the  tide. 

Jordan's  billows  all  around  me, 
And  the  stormy  tempests  rage, 
Jesus  shall  command  the  ocean, 
And  will  give  a  homeward  breeze. 

CHORUS — We  're  out  on  the  ocean  sailing,  etc. 

Yes,  I  think  I  see  the  city, 
And  the  lighthouse  on  the  shore: 
Hark.!  I  hear  the  angels  singing, 
Come,  O  come,  my  brother,  come! 

CHORUS — We  're  out  on  the  ocean  sailing,  etc. 

Yonder  comes  the  angel  pilot, 
Come  to  waft  my  spirit  home; 
Soon  with  them  I  shall  be  singing 
There  with  Moses  and  the  Lamb. 

CHORUS — We  're  ouf  on  the  ocean  sailing,  etc. 


W72 
X 


(    108    ) 


Soon  I  shall  be  in  the  Kingdom, 
Soon  I  shall  outlive  the  storm; 
Soon  I  shall  be  in  the  Kingdom, 
There  around  my  Father's  throne. 

CHOBUJS — We  're  out  on  the  ocean  sailing,  etc. 

There  the  winds  will  all  be  silent, 
There  the  tempests  never  rage ; 
All  the  sailors  that  are  faithful, 
There  shall  meet  to  part  no  more. 

OHOKUS — We  're  out  on  the  ocean  sailing,  etc. 

There  I  shall  meet  my  brother, 
I  shall  meet  my  father,  too, 
And  with  them  I  shall  be  happy, 
And  never,  never  part  again. 

CHORUS—  We  're  out  on  the  ocean  sailing,  etc. 


A  second  edition  of  this  book,  will  be  published  with  new 
and  original  matter  of  interest. 


« 


Williams'  Escape  from  Slavery. 

Full  particulars  of  the  Underground  Railroad. 

Coming  to  California. 

The  Case  of  Archy. 

Connection  with  the  African  M.  E.  Church. 

Sketches  of  the  Catholic  and  Protestant  Churches. 

The  Story  of  Charles  Thompson. 

Henry  Box  Brown. 

Escape  from  Slavery  of  a  Young  Woman  in  a  box. 

The  Story  of  Harry  Grimes. 

Story  of  George  Laws, 

Story  of  Pete  Mathews, 

The  Story  of  Leah  Green. 

Liberty,  or  Jim  Billy  Bowlegs. 

Abram  Galoway  and  Richard  Easier. 

Story  of  Ann  Johnson  and  Levina  Woolfley, 

The  Story  of  William  and  Ellen  Craft. 

Story  of  Barnaby  Grigby  and  others, 

Stockholders  in  the  U.  G.  R.  R. 


ALSO, 

Spiritualism. 
Bigamy, 

The  Modoc  War7 
The  Chinese  in  California, 
The  Christian's    Voyage, 

Are  all  contained  in  this  Book. 


